eot 


A6RIC. 
LIBRARY 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


A  HAND-BOOK 


FOB  THE 


STUDENT  AND  STOCKMAN 


BY 

W.  A.  HENRY 

, » 

.     Dean  of  the  College  of  Agriculture^ 
and  Director  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
University  of  Wisconsin 


1  The  eye  of  the  master  fattens  his  cattle." 

—  German  adage. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOB 

MADISON,   WIS. 

1898 


Copyright,  1898, 
BY  W.  A.  HENRY. 


M.  J.  CANTWELL,  PRINTER,  MADISON,  WI8. 


PREFACE. 


For  more  than  a  generation  past  many  of  the  ablest  scientists 
of  the  Old  World  have  devoted  their  energies  to  a  study  of 
the  laws  of  animal  nutrition.  American  Experiment  Stations, 
although  of  recent  origin,  have  added  much  to  our  store  of 
knowledge  concerning  the  application  of  science  to  stock  feed- 
ing. From  these  fruitful  sources  the  writer  has  endeavored  to 
select  data  important  in  establishing  principles  and  helpful  in 
directing  rational  practice.  In  addition  there  has  been  gathered 
from  all  available  sources  the  experiences  and  observations  of 
stockmen. 

Much  space  is  occupied  by  tables,  which  are  usually  condensed 
and  arranged  from  the  original  sources,  to  which  references  are 
made.  By  their  help  it  is  hoped  the  student  will  be  able  to 
determine  for  himself  to  what  extent  the  deductions  drawn  are 
warranted  by  the  facts.  Moreover,  the  data  they  contain  may 
form  the  basis  for  new  studies  with  those  specially  interested, 
and  may  make  additional  conclusions  possible. 

The  stockman  whose  training  has  been  solely  in  the  school  of 
experience  often  holds  in  light  regard  that  which  is  written  con- 
cerning his  vocation.  Let  him  remember  that  facts  and  truths 
are  the  same  whether  their  repository  is  a  book  or  the  human 
mind.  Held  by  the  latter,  all  perish  with  the  possessor;  in  the 
keeping  of  the  former,  the  whole  world  may  be  benefited.  On 
the  other  hand,  novices  usually  underestimate  the  importance  of 
experience,  often  thinking  that  by  reading  they  can  acquire  the 
knowledge  necessary  in  the  prosecution  of  their  business.  That 
stock  feeding  is  an  art  and  not  a  science,  and  that  experience  and 
judgment  must  rule  in  its  successful  conduct,  is  recognized  in 
this  volume  by  placing  on  the  title  page  the  adage,  "The  eye  of 
the  master  fattens  his  cattle."  In  this  we  have  followed  the 

258085 


iv  Preface. 

German  author  Kiihn  in  his  popular  work  on  the  same  topic.  In 
the  successful  management  of  live  stock  abstract  knowledge  can- 
not take  the  place  of  experience,  though  it  will  prove  of  the 
highest  value  when  both  are  rightly  combined.  The  stockman 
who  in  addition  to  experience  possesses  some  knowledge  of  the 
composition  of  the  nutrients  of  feeding  stuffs,  and  has  considered 
how  the  animal  grows  and  is  nourished  by  them,  is  certainly 
thereby  better  equipped  for  wisely  and  economically  administer- 
ing feed  to  the  animals  under  his  care.  And  in  the  deeper  in- 
sight and  wider  range  of  vision  which  these  studies  insure,  there 
comes  keener  enjoyment  and  a  greater  satisfaction  to  the  posses- 
sor, in  his  daily  round  of  duties. 

Acknowledgment  is  due  my  co-worker,  Prof.  F.  "W.  Woll,  for 
assistance,  especially  in  collating  the  data  published  by  foreign 
investigators.  His  familiarity  with  this  source  of  information 
has  been  of  the  highest  utility.  Mr.  A.  M.  Troyer,  a  graduate 
student  in  agriculture,  has  assisted  in  preparing  and  verifying 

the  tables  from  American  sources. 

W.  A.  HENRY. 
MADISON,  Wis.,  February,  1898. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I.— PLANT  GROWTH  AND  ANIMAL  NUTRITION. 

CHAPTER.  PACK. 

I.    The  Plant;   How  it  Grows  and  Elaborates  Food  for 

Animals .  1 

II.    Mastication,  Digestion  and  Assimilation     .....  12 

III.  Digestion,  Respiration  and  Calorimetry    ......  26 

IV.  Animal  Nutrition 40 

V.    The  Source  of  Muscular  Energy;  Composition  of  Ani- 
mals Before  and  After  Fattening 63 

VI.    Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body 78 

VIL    Explanation  of  Tables  of  Composition   and   Feeding 
Standards— Methods  of  Calculating   Rations  for 

Farm  Animals,  etc 97 

PART  II.— FEEDING  STUFFS. 

VIII.    Leading  Cereals  and  Their  By-products 119 

IX.    Minor  Cereals,  Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds  and 

Their  By-products 143 

X.    Indian  Corn  as  a  Forage  Plant 163 

XI.    The  Grasses,  Fresh  and  Cured  — Straw 178 

XII.    Leguminous  Plants  for  Green  Forage  and  Hay     ...  195 

XIII.    Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs 211 

XIV.    Soiling  Cattle  —  Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs     ...  231 

XV.    The  Ensilage  of  Fodders 245 

XVI.    Manurial  Value  of  Feeding  Stuffs 263 

PART  III.— FEEDING  FARM  ANIMALS. 

XVII.    Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse 271 

XVIII.    Feeds  for  the  Horse 292 

XIX.    Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse 311 

XX.    Calf  Rearing 334 

XXI.    Results  of  Steer-feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations     ...  345 

XXII.    Factors  in  Steer  Fattening— Final  Results     ....  364 

XXIII.  Counsel  in  the  Feed  Lot 381 

XXIV.  The  Dairy  Cow— Scientific  Findings 401 


vi  Contents. 

CHAPTER.  PAQK. 

XXV.    Station  Tests  with  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Dairy  Cows     .    .  413 

XXVI.    Influence  of  Feed  on  Milk— Wide  and  Narrow  Rations  437 
XXVII.    Public  Tests  of  Pure-bred  Dairy  Cows  — Cost  of  Pro- 
ducing Milk  and  Fat  in  Dairy  Herds  at  Various 

Experiment  Stations 448 

XXVIII.    Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow 463 

XXIX.    Investigations  with  Sheep 480 

XXX.    Experiments  in  Fattening  Sheep— Wool  Production    .  497 

XXXI.    General  Care  of  Sheep  — Fattening 614 

XXXII.    Investigations  with  Swine 635 

XXXIII.  Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs 556 

XXXIV.  Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments 683 

XXXV.    Feeding  and  Management  of  Swine— Effect  of  Feed 

on  the  Carcass  of  the  Pig 604 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING. 


PART  I. 
PLANT  GROWTH  AND  ANIMAL  NUTRITION. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

W  IT  GROWS  A 
FOOD  FOR  ANIMALS. 

I.  Plant  Grmcth. 

1.  Concerning  plant  cells. —  Since  plants  and  their  products  in 
some  form,  directly  or  indirectly,  constitute  the  food  of  animals, 
it  is  proper  in  these  studies  that  we  briefly  examine  how  the  plant 
grows  and  elaborates  this  food. 

The  unit  of  plant  growth  is  the  cell.  If  we  study  a  grain  of 
corn  or  a  corn  stalk  we  find  it  made  up  of  cells  variously  modified, 
the  whole  group  together  taking  on  the  form  of  the  object  under 
consideration.  In  their  primary  condition  all  cells  are  closed 
sacs,  and  contain  the  juices  and  other  substances  incident  to  plant 
growth.  The  walls  of  the  plant  cells  are  composed  of  a  woody 
substance  called  cellulose.  These  walls  may  be  thin  and  tender  to 
the  teeth  of  the  animal,  as  in  the  young  plants  of  the  fields,  or 
thick,  woody  and  tough,  as  in  the  stems  of  the  forest  trees.  Before 
studying  more  intimately  the  plant  cell,  its  contents,  and  what 
occurs  within  it,  let  us  consider  the  substances  essential  to  plant 
growth. 

2.  Elements  essential  to  plant  life. — The  elementary  substances 
required  for  plant  life  are  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  nitrogen, 


2  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

potassium,  calcium,  magnesium,  phosphorus,  iron,  chlorin  and 
sulfur.  The  plant  can  make  no  use  of  these  elements  in  their 
uncombined  form,  with  the  single  exception  of  oxygen,  of  which 
it  may  utilize  a  small  amount  in  elementary  form.  All  the  other 
elements,  as  well  as  oxygen  for  the  most  part,  must  be  combined 
with  one  another  in  some  form  to  be  of  use  to  the  plant.  The 
mineral  substances  which  are  taken  up  by  the  roots  of  the  plant 
may  be  grouped  as  follows: 

Sul  fates  ^             C  Potassium 

Phosphates  I  *     I  Calcium 

Nitrates  and  |            1  Magnesium  and 

Chlorids  J              [  Iron. 

Nitrogen  in  the  form  of  nitrates  and  as  ammonia  is  taken  up 
by  the  plant  through  its  roots.  Legumes  (peas,  clover,  etc.) 
possess  the  power  of  fixing  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  air  through 
the  intermediate  action  of  certain  species  of  bacteria  harbored 
by  the  roots.  Otherwise  such  'nitrogen  is  not  directly  available 
for  plant  growth. 

3.  Water  required  by  plants. —  Water,  as  we  may  judge  from 
its  abundance  in  plants,  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  them. 
Half-grown  clover  plants  may  contain  as  much  as  92  per  cent, 
water,  or  more  than  is  found  in  skim  milk.  The  turnip  contains 
from  87  to  92  per  cent,  water.  When  a  crop  of  corn  is  partially 
grown,  nine-tenths  of  its  whole  weight  may  be  water.  Plants 
exhale  a  large  amount  of  water  through  their  leaves  during 
growth.  A  sunflower  plant  3.3  feet  high  has  been  known  to 
exhale  1.25  pounds  of  water  through  its  leaves  during  twelve 
hours.  Lawes  and  Gilbert  found  in  the  moist  climate  of  England, 
that  wheat,  barley,  beans,  peas  and  clover  exhaled  during  five 
months  of  growth  about  200  times  their  dry  weight  of  water.  King, 
of  the  Wisconsin  Station, l  measuring  the  water  given  off  through 
leaf  evaporation  as  well  as  by  the  soil  supporting  the  plants, 
found  that  for  each  pound  of  dry  matter  produced  by  the  plant 
in  root,  stem,  leaf  and  seed,  there  were  required  for  corn  301, 
for  barley  401,  and  for  oats  501  pounds  of  water.  The  transpi- 
ration of  water  by  the  leaves  causes  an  upward  progress  of  that 
liquid  from  the  roots  through  the  stem  of  at  least  1.3  inches 

1  Kept.  1891. 


Sow  the  Plant  Grows.  3 

per  minute.     Under  certain  conditions  the  upward  movement  of 
water  in  plant  stems  may  exceed  30  inches  per  minute. 

4.  How  plants  gather  food. —  Carbonic  acid,  which  is  next  to 
water  in  the  amount  utilized  by  plants,  is  taken  up  by  them 
through  the  medium  of  the  leaves.     Ten  thousand  volumes  of  air 
contain  about  three  volumes  of  carbonic  acid  gas;   thirty- two 
hundred  cubic  yards  of  air  hold  one  pound  of  this  gas.     An  acre 
of  growing  wheat  will  gather  during  four  months  one  ton  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  or  an  amount  equal  to  all  the  air  contains  over 
the  same  area  of  land  to  a  height  of  three  miles. 

In  the  leaves  of  plants,  mostly  on  their  under  side,  are  numerous 
minute  openings  leading  into  the  interior.  Air  passing  through 
these  carries  with  it  carbonic  acid,  which  is  absorbed  by  the  leaf 
cells.  The  feeding  roots  of  plants  are  clothed  with  minute  hairs, 
which  take  up  water  from  the  soil,  together  with  mineral  matter 
and  nitrogen  compounds  in  solution.  There  are  no  direct  open- 
ings in  these  root  hairs,  the  material  being  taken  up  by  diffusion. 
Boots  are  capable  of  dissolving  and  absorbing  solid  ingredients 
from  the  soil  particles  with  which  they  come  in  contact.  Though 
they  take  up  some  matter  which  is  useless  to  the  plant,  roots 
exercise  a  very  considerable  selective  power  in  the  materials 
absorbed,  and  do  not  seem  to  gather  plant  food  indiscriminately. 

5.  Plant  building. —  Having  learned  what  the  plant  lives  upon 
and  how  it  gathers  its  food,  let  us  consider  how  it  grows.     In  the 
active  cells,  especially  those  of  the  leaves,  there  is  found  a  trans- 
lucent, jelly-like  substance  called  protoplasm.     The  life  of  the 
plant  may  be  said  to  exist  in  this  protoplasm.     The  green  coloring 
of  leaves  and  stems  is  due  to  a  substance  called  chlorophyll  con- 
tained within  the  protoplasm.     Chlorophyll  is  formed  only  in 
sunlight.     The  carbonic  acid  gas  gathered  by  the  leaves  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  cells  containing  protoplasm  charged  with  chloro- 
phyll.   The  plant  everywhere  is  bathed  with  j  uices  called  i  l  sap, ' 7 
a  very  large  portion  of  which  is  water  brought  in  by  the  roots. 
In  this  sap  are  mineral  matter  and  nitrogen  compounds.     And 
now  for  the  wonderful  transmutation. 

The  carbonic  acid  gas  and  water  commingling  in  the  cells  are 
decomposed  and  their  atoms  re-arranged  and  welded  into  a  new 


4  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

substance  by  the  energy  of  sunlight  and  heat  guided  by  the  life 
principle  of  the  protoplasm  with  its  chlorophyll.  The  result  of 
the  union  of  the  gas  and  water  is  starch,  with  some  oxygen  left 
as  a  by-product.  The  oxygen  escapes  to  the  air,  while  the  starch 
is  retained  by  the  plant  for  manifold  uses.  It  is  possible  that 
starch  is  not  the  first  substance  formed,  but  it  is  the  first  with 
which  we  have  to  deal. 

6.  Starch. —  The  great  building  material  of  the  plant  is  starch. 
The  plant  has  use  for  little  or  none  of  the  starch  in  the  cells 
where  it  is  manufactured,  but  requires  it  elsewhere.    Being  insol- 
uble in  water  and  forming  in  cells  which  are  closed  sacs,  the 
starch  cannot  be  transferred  to  other  parts  of  the  plant  in  its 
original  form.     The  difficulty  is  overcome  by  the  protoplasm  of 
the  cell  changing  the  starch  into  sugar  and  soluble  substances 
closely  allied  to  starch,  as  we  shall  presently  see.     Sugar  is  solu- 
ble in  the  juices  of  the  plant,  and  by  diffusion  it  is  readily  trans- 
ferred from  cell  to  cell  until  it  reaches  the  place  where  needed. 
The  principle  which  renders  starch   soluble  is  an  unorganized 
ferment  called  "  diastase, "  which  can  change  two  thousand  times 
its  own  weight  of  starch  into  soluble  compounds. 

The  walls  of  the  innumerable  cells  of  the  plant  framework  are 
constructed  of  cellulose,  a  substance  having  the  same  composition 
as  starch.  Where  growth  occurs  in  the  enlarging  plant,  the  newly- 
formed  cells  are  tender  and  filled  with  protoplasm.  Each  cell 
divides  into  two  or  more  cells,  the  newly-formed  members  growing 
to  full  size.  The  cell  walls  thus  enlarged  are  built  of  soluble 
sugar  changed  to  insoluble  cellulose  through  the  action  of  pro- 
toplasm. 

7.  Growth  from  the  chemist's  standpoint. —  Let  us  review  the 
subject  of  plant  growth,  as  we  have  studied  it  to  this  point,  from 
the  position  of  the  chemist,  in  order  to  fix  more  clearly  in  mind 
the  process  of  plant  growth. 

With  the  chemist,  "  O  "  stands  for  oxygen,  "  H  "  for  hydrogen, 
"C"  for  carbon.  Water  is  composed  of  two  atoms  of  hydrogen 
chemically  united  with  one  of  oxygen.  This  molecule,  which  is 
the  smallest  division  of  the  water  particle,  they  symbolize  as 
H  2  O.  In  the  same  manner  carbonic  acid  gas  is  indicated  by  CO  2 . 


Sow  the  Plant  Grows. 


The  chemist  writes  the  substances  formed  from  carbonic  acid  gas 
and  water  in  the  plant  thus: 

Starch      | 

Cellulose}  °i ^20^10 
Cane  sugar  Gl2H.2ZOll 
Glucose  C12H24O12 

Let  us  now  consider  from  the  chemist's  standpoint  how  starch 
may  be  formed  by  the  plant  from  carbonic  acid  and  water,  and, 
when  once  formed,  how  it  may  be  changed  to  sugar,  glucose  or 
•cellulose. 

This  may  be  shown  by  the  following  equations: 

Taken  in  by  the  plant.  Changed  in  the  plant  to  — 

Carbonic  acid  Water  Starch  Oxygen 

12(C02)     +     10(H20)     =     C12H20010     +240 
Starch  by  the  addition  of  one  part  of  water  becomes  cane 
sugar 5  thus: 

Starch  Water  Cane  sugar 

CI2H20010       +      H20       =       O^H^O,, 
Cane  sugar  plus  one  part  of  water  becomes  glucose,  thus: 
Cane  sugar  Water  Glucose 

C12H22^11  +          H2^  =          C12H24O12 

In  the  above  we  observe  that  12  molecules  of  carbonic  acid 
united  with  10  molecules  of  water  form  1  molecule  of  starch 
with  24  atoms  of  oxygen  remaining.  By  the  second  equation  we 
learn  that  if  one  molecule  of  water  is  added  to  the  starch  molecule, 
a  molecule  of  cane  sugar  results.  The  addition  of  another  mole- 
cule of  water  to  cane  sugar  gives  glucose.  The  removal  of  one 
molecule  of  water  from  cane  sugar  and  two  from  glucose  reduces 
these  substances  back  to  starch,  or  to  cellulose. 

In  the  above  cases  the  hydrogen  and  oxygen  stand  in  the  same 
relation  to  each  other  as  in  water,  there  being  two  atoms  of  the 
former  to  one  of  the  latter.  For  this  reason,  starch,  cane  sugar, 
cellulose  and  similar  substances  are  called  carbohydrates. l 

8.  Plant  oils. —  Another  group  of  building  materials  found  in 
the  plant  comes  under  the  term  " fats'7  or  "oils."  Though  they 

1  For  information  concerning  scientific  and  technical  terms  the  student 
will  consult  the  Glossary  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


6  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

are  composed  of  the  same  three  elements  found  in  the  carbo- 
hydrate group,  the  hydrogen  atoms  are  not  always  twice  the 
number  of  oxygen  atoms.  These  oils  are  usually  compounded 
of  several  simple  oils,  the  principal  of  which,  with  their  formulae, 

are  as  follows: 

Stearin     C57H110O6 

Palmitin  C51H98O6 
Olein        C57H10406 

Oils  give  off  much  more  heat  during  combustion  than  the  car- 
bohydrates because  they  contain  a  relatively  •  larger  quantity  oi 
carbon.  While  found  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  plant,  the  oils  and 
fats  are  chiefly  stored  in  seeds,  as  flax,  cotton,  rape,  etc.  Oats, 
wheat  and  corn  contain  some  fats  or  oils. 

9.  Protein   compounds. —  Thus  far  we    have    considered  the 
plant  compounds  which  result  from  the  union  of  the  three  ele- 
ments, carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxygen.     We  now  come  to  a  more 
complex  group  of  plant  substances  containing  two  additional  ele- 
ments, viz.,  nitrogen  and  sulfur.     It  is  held  that  the  nitrates 
taken  up  through  the  roots  of  plants  on  reaching  the  protoplasmic 
masses  in  the  active  cells  are  broken  up,  and  the  nitric  acid  and 
sulfur  are  united  with  starch  or  a  starch  derivative,  forming  a 
protein  compound.     Protein  substances  may  be  produced  in  pro- 
toplasmic masses  which  may  or  may  not  contain  chlorophyll.    The 
protoplasm  of  active  cells,  where  the  work  of  assimilation  goes- 
on,  is  itself  a  protein  substance.     Very  little  protein  is  found  in 
the  woody,  older  portions  of  the  plant,  the  greater  amount  existing 
at  the  point  of  growth  and  in  the  seeds  or  reproductive  parts.   In 
the  seed  the  protein  exists  quite  largely  in  the  germ  itself,  and 
also  in  the  surrounding  envelopes.     For  a  definition  of  protein, 
see  Glossary.     The  protein  compounds  of  plants  are  divided  into 
two  groups  —  albuminoids  and  amides. 

10.  The   albuminoids. —  One  group    of   protein    substances   i& 
characterized  by   the   term   "  albuminoids. "     Vegetable  albu- 
men closely  resembles  the  white  of  egg,  and  like  it,  is  coagulated 
by  heat.     Gluten,  another  albuminoid,  is  found  in  the  wheat 
grain.     It  may  be  separated  from  the  starchy  portion  of  wheat 
flour  by  washing  the  dough  in  running  water,  the  sticky  mass 


How  the  Plant  Grows.  1 

remaining  constituting  crude  gluten.  The  nitrogenous  portion  ot 
beans,  peas,  clover  seeds,  etc.,  is  likewise  an  albuminoid  called 
"legumin." 

11.  Amides. —  The  amides  are  nitrogenous  bodies  which  are 
crystalline  and  soluble  in  water.     Being  soluble,  they  can  pass 
through  the  cell  walls  of  plant  tissues,  and  thus  are  capable  of 
diffusing  from  one  part  of  the  plant  to  another.    Since  the  amides 
are  found  in  the  immature  and  growing  parts  of  plants,  it  is 
probable  that  their  function  is  the  transfer  of  organized  nitrogen 
from  one  part  of  the  structure  to  another  in  the  process  of  plant 
building. 

12.  Mineral  compounds. —  Though  occurring  in  relatively  small 
amounts,  mineral  matter  in  various  combinations  is  essential  to 
the  life  and  development  of  all  plants.     The  elaboration  of  food 
materials  in  the  protoplasmic  masses  referred  to  in  the  previous 
paragraph,  as  well  as  the  development  of  the  young  plants  from 
the  seed,  require  the  presence  of  mineral  matter,  which  is  found 
everywhere  in  the  plant  substance.     The  leaves  of  plants  contain 
more  ash  or  mineral  matter  than  the  other  portions.     This  is 
probably  due  to  the  constant  evaporation  of  water  from  the 
leaves,  the  ash  matter  in  solution  being  left  behind. 

13.  The  end  of  plant  effort. —  If  we  study  the  life  history  of 
an  individual  plant  we  observe  that  its  first  effort  is  directed 
toward  self- establishment  and  enlargement.     All  of  the  food 
elaborated  from  the  compounds  taken  from  air  and  soil  is  trans- 
ferred to  the  growing  parts,  that  the  plant  may  be  built  up  and 
reach  perfection.     As  the  period  of  maturity  approaches,  all  the 
energies  of  the  plant  are  changed  to  that  of  reproduction  or  mul- 
tiplication.    The  food  materials,  which  were  at  first  used  for  leaf 
multiplication  and  enlargement  or  for  the  growth  of  more  and 
larger  stems  and  roots,  are  now  joined  into  a  current  which  flows 
to  the  reproductive  parts.     First  come  the  blossoms,  and  then 
the  young,  enlarging  fruits.     Into  these  the  sugars,  protein  com- 
pounds and  mineral  substances  gathered  from  air  and  soil,  and 
elaborated  in  the  green  parts,  are  poured  in  a  steady  current. 
The  wheat  plant  resulting  from  a  single  kernel  bears  a  hundred 
fruits  in  the  shape  of  grains;  the  Indian  corn  plant  may  produce 


8  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

a  thousand  fold.  In  each  of  these  grains  is  a  miniature  plant, — 
the  germ,  about  which  is  stored  a  generous  supply  of  nutriment. 
This  is  placed  in  compact,  concentrated  form,  awaiting  the  time 
when  the  germ  begins  life  on  its  own  account.  In  the  potato 
tuber  there  is  a  liberal  storage  of  starch.  In  the  beet  root  the 
stored  materials  are  held  in  the  form  of  cane  sugar,  reserved  for 
seed  production  the  following  season.  Each  germ,  or  repro- 
ductive part,  is  surrounded  with  food  elements,  arranged  after 
nature's  choicest  plan  to  aid  in  reproduction. 

14.  The  sun  the  source  of  plant  life. —  Thus    far    we    have 
spoken  of  the  plant  as  though  it  accomplished  all  these  wonder- 
ful transmutations  through  self-contained  powers.     This  is  incor- 
rect.    A  plant  can  no  more  unite  the  elements  of  carbonic  acid 
and  water  into  starch,  or  move  this  starch,  changed  to  sugar,  to 
needed  points,  than  can  the  wheels  of  a  great  factory  move  with- 
out the  impelling  force  of  steam  or  the  electric  current.     The 
source  of  all  life  and  power  is  the  sun,  the  energy  of  which  in 
the  shape  of  light  and  heat  is  absorbed  by  the  protoplasmic  mass 
and  its  chlorophyll  particles.     In  the  plant  cells  the  all-powerful 
energy  of  the  sun,  guided  by  the  mysterious  principle  of  life, 
works  all  the  wonderful  transmutations  we  have  recorded. 

15.  Plants  the  support  of  animal  life. —  Nature  has  decreed  that 
it  is  the  function  of  the  plant,  through  the  sun,  to  build  inorganic 
compounds  into  organic  matter,  in  which  operation  the  energy 
employed  becomes  latent.     Through  digestion  and  absorption  the 
various  plant  compounds  are  incorporated  in  the  animal  body, 
or  are  broken  down  within  it  into  simpler  compounds  than  those 
of  the  plant  structure.     In  this  dissolution  the  energy  which  was 
hidden  in  the  plant  is  again  revealed  in  all  the  manifestations  of 
animal  life.     In  the  coal  burning  in  the  grate  we  observe  the 
re- appearance  of  the  energy  of  the  sun  which  was  stored  in  plants 
ages  ago.     In  the  stalks  and  ears  of  corn  which  we  feed  to  cattle, 
we  are  furnishing  energy  received  from  the  sun  and  rendered 
dormant  in  plant  building  during  the  previous  summer.     When 
supplying  plants  and  seeds  to  the  animals  under  his  care,  the 
stockman  observes  in  their  growing  bodies  warmed  by  internal 
fires  the  energy  of  the  sun  transmitted  by  the  plant  to  the  animal. 


How  tJie  Plant  Grows. 


II.  How  the  Chemist  Grroups  Plant  Substances. 

16.  Illustrations. —  The  agricultural  chemist  divides  plant  sub- 
stances into  groups,  differing  in  some  cases  from  those  made  by 
the  physiological  chemist.  In  the  following  table  a  few  stock 
feeds  are  shown  as  grouped  by  the  agricultural  chemist,  such  pres- 
entation being  for  the  purpose  of  guiding  the  student  in  his  con- 
sideration of  this  subject. 

Composition  of  certain  American  feeding  stuffs,  as  arranged  by  the 
agricultural  chemist. 


. 

Percentage  composition. 

Feeding  stuffs. 

O    QQ 

o£ 
fc| 

Water. 

Ash. 

Protein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitro- 
gen-free 
extract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Fresh  pasture 

grass  

10 

75.3 

2.5 

4.0 

5.9 

11.4 

.9 

Mangels 

9 

90.9 

1.1 

1.4 

.9 

5  5 

2 

Corn. 

86 

10.6 

1.5 

10.3 

2.2 

70.4 

5  0 

Red  clover  hay.. 

38 

15.3 

6.2 

12.3 

24.8 

38.1 

3.3 

The  first  column  presents  the  names  of  the  feeding  stuffs  exam- 
ined. The  second  column  states  the  number  of  analyses  from 
which  the  subsequent  data  are  derived.  As  a  rule  these  analyses 
have  been  made  by  chemists  at  different  points  in  the  country,  so 
that  when  a  considerable  number  have  been  secured  we  may 
regard  the  average  as  representative  of  the  plant  or  plant  sub- 
stances under  consideration.  The  remainder  of  the  table  comes 
under  the  general  heading  " Percentage  composition."  Let  us 
consider  its  several  divisions. 

17.  Water. —  The  chemist  places  a  small  quantity  of  the  food 
material,  usually  finely  divided  by  chopping  or  grinding,  into  a 
small  vessel  and  ascertains  its  weight.  The  balance  used  is  so 
delicate  that  a  thimbleful  of  corn  meal  can  be  weighed  with  a 
smaller  percentage  of  probable  error  than  is  usual  when  a  farmer 
weighs  a  wagon-load  of  corn  on  a  good  scale.  The  sample  is 
then  placed  in  an  oven,  where  it  is  dried  at  a  temperature  of  212° 
Fahr.  for  several  hours,  or  until  a  constant  weight  is  secured. 
The  heat  drives  off  the  water,  and  the  difference  between  the  two 


10  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

weights  represents  the  amount  of  water  which  the  sample  origi- 
nally contained. 

We  learn  by  the  third  column  of  the  table  that  the  water  in 
pasture  grass  is  75.3  per  cent,  of  the  whole  amount;  that  is,  such 
grass  is  about  three-fourths  water.  Corn  carries  10.6  per  cent, 
of  water,  while  red  clover  hay  contains  15.3  pounds  to  the  hun- 
dred weight. 

18.  Ash. —  Having  determined  the  water  in  the  sample,  the 
chemist  next  burns  it  to  ascertain  its  ash  'content.     Care  is 
taken  that  no  charcoal  is  left,  only  the  clear  ash  remaining.    The 
next  column  shows  the  percentage  of  ash  in  the  feeding  stuffs 
under  consideration.     In  100  pounds  of  pasture  grass  there  are 
2.5  pounds  of  ash.     Indian  corn  has  only  1.5  pounds  of  ash  for 
100  of  grain,  while  red  clover  hay  yields  6.2  pounds.    This  large 
amount  comes  in  part  from  the  accumulation  of  ash  in  the  leaves 
of  the  clover  plant,  and  in  some  measure  is  due  to  earth  washed 
up  on  the  stems  of  the  plant  by  rain,  and  to  the  dust  which  set- 
tles on  plants,  and  on  hay  before  it  is  placed  in  the  barn.     Such 
foreign  material  is  really  not  ash,  but  of  necessity  is  reported  as 
such. 

19.  Protein. —  The  process  of  determining  the  protein  in  a 
feeding  stuff  is  too  complicated  for  presentation  here.    Suffice  it  to 
say  that  the  nitrogen  contained  therein  is  determined,  and  that 
the  sum  so  secured  is  multiplied  by  6.25  to  determine  the  protein, 
since  it  has  been  found  that  about  16  per  cent,  of  protein  sub- 
stances consist  of  nitrogen.    By  the  table  we  find  that  the  protein 
of  pasture  grass  amounts  to  4,  mangels  to  1.4,  corn  to  10.3,  and 
red  clover  hay  to  12.3  pounds  per  hundred  weight.     "We  are 
shown  that  pasture  grass  is  much  richer  in  protein  than  are 
mangels,  and  that  clover  hay  is  likewise  richer  than  the  grain  of 
the  corn  plant. 

20.  Crude  fiber. —  The  amount  of  crude  fiber  is  determined  by 
boiling  a  sample  of  the  fodder  successively  in  weak  acid  and 
alkali  solutions,  which  dissolve  all  the  softer  parts.    That  which 
remains  after  washing  is  called  l '  crude  fiber.  ' '     It  consists  for  the 
most  part  of  cellulose,  which,  as  we  have  already  learned,  con- 
stitutes the  framework  of  the  plant.     Corn  grains  contain  only 


How  tlw  Plant  Grows.  11 

2.2  per  cent,  crude  fiber,  while  clover  hay  yields  nearly  25 
per  cent. 

21.  Ether  extract  or  fat. —  A  sample  of  the  fodder,  dried  so  as 
to  be  free  from  water,  is  treated  with  ether,  which  has  the  power 
of  dissolving  fat,  wax,  resins  and  similar  substances.    The  matter 
extracted  by  ether  is  quite  commonly  called  "fat"  in  works  on 
plant  analysis.     In  this  book  it  is  always  spoken  of  as  "ether 
extract."     In  seeds  nearly  all  the  ether  extract  is  fat  or  oil,  and 
has  a  corresponding  feeding  value.     In  plant  leaves  and  stems 
much  of  the  ether  extract  is  wax,  chlorophyll  and  other  substances 
of  lower  feeding  value  than  fat.    Mangels  are  shown  by  the  table 
to  yield  only  .2  of  a  pound  of  ether  extract  per  100,  while  corn 
reaches  5  per  cent. 

22.  Nitrogen-free  extract. —  Mtrogen-free  extract  signifies  what 
is  left  of  the  organic  matter  of  the  plant  after  deducting  the  pre- 
ceding groups  of  compounds.     It  contains  starch,  sugar,  pento- 
sans,  gums,  organic  acid  and  other  bodies.     The  nitrogen-free 
extract  and  the  crude  fiber  together  constitute  the  carbohydrates 
of  the  plant  physiologist.     Nitrogen-free  extract  is  determined 
by  difference.    The  total  dry  matter  in  the  fodder,  minus  the  ash, 
ether  extract  and  crude  fiber,  equals  the  percentage  of  nitrogen- 
free  extract  present.     The  great  difference  between  plants  and 
seeds  as  to  woody  matter  is  shown  in  the  table.     Over  70  per 
cent,  of  the  substance  of  corn  and  only  about  38  per  cent,  of 
clover  hay  is  nitrogen-free  extract. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

MASTICATION,    DIGESTION  AND   ASSIMILATION.1 

23.  Prehension. —  The  horse  when   grazing   gathers  herbage 
with  the  lips,  which  are  very  sensitive,  and  act  with  great  mo- 
bility.    The  food  thus  gathered  is  severed  with  the  incisor  or 
front  teeth  of  the  upper  and  lower  jaws.     "When  feeding  on  hay 
and  grain,  the  horse  still  makes  free  use  of  the  lips  in  working 
the  food  into  the  mouth. 

The  ox  seizes  herbage  with  the  outstretched  tongue,  and  by  a 
swinging  motion  of  the  head  severs  it  as  it  passes  between  the 
teeth  in  the  lower  jaw  and  the  cartilaginous  pad  of  the  upper  jaw. 

The  sheep,  like  the  ox,  has  no  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw;  like  the 
horse,  it  makes  free  use  of  the  lips  when  grazing.  The  horse  in 
grazing  crops  the  herbage  nearer  to  the  ground  than  does  the  ox, 
and  the  sheep  still  closer  than  the  horse. 

The  shape  and  direction  of  the  front  teeth  of  the  hog  show  an 
omniverous  feeder.  Probably  the  grazing  quality  of  the  hog 
varies  considerably  with  the  breed,  and  also  in  different  strains 
of  the  same  breed,  the  skulls  and  jaws  of  hogs  presenting  re- 
markable variations  in  size  and  shape. 

24.  Mastication. —  The  food  consumed  by  the  animal  is  reduced 
to  fineness  by  the  molar  teeth,  assisted  by  the  lips,  tongue  and 
cheeks,  which  pass  it  to  the  place  for  grinding  and  hold  it  in 
position.     With  herbivorous  animals  the  lower  jaw  is  much 
narrower  than  the  upper.     In  the  horse,  when  the  upper  and 
lower  grinders  of  one  side  are  in  contact,  those  of  the  lower  jaw 
on  the  other  side  are  nearly  or  quite  an  inch  to  the  inside  of  their 
mates  above,  so  that  grinding  is  possible  on  but  one  side  of  the 
mouth  at  a  time.     As  mastication  proceeds,  the  feed  is  mixed 

1  Most  of  the  text  and  tables  in  this  chapter  are  adapted  from  the 
Physiology  of  the  Domestic  Animals,  by  Robert  Meade  Smith,  which 
•excellent  work  should  be  consulted  by  the  student  seeking  further  infor- 
mation on  these  subjects. 


Mastication,  Digestion  and  Assimilation. 


13 


with  saliva  poured  upon  it  from  glands  opening  into  the  mouth 
at  several  points.  The  food  materials  in  the  mouth  are  gradually 
formed  into  a  rounded  mass  or  bolus  for  swallowing.  Colin  esti- 
mates that  a  horse  requires  one  and  one-half  hours  to  masticate 
four  pounds  of  dry  hay,  and  that  this  amount  will  make  from 
sixty  to  sixty-five  boluses,  the  rate  of  mastication  being  from 
thirty  to  eighty  strokes  of  the  teeth  per  minute.  Saliva  aids 
mastication,  and  a  suppression  of  the  flow  prolongs  the  operation. 
Colin  diverted  the  flow  of  saliva  by  fistulas  or  openings,  and 
recorded  results  as  follows: 

Time  required  by  the  horse  in  masticating  hay  —  Colin. 


All  the  saliva 
poured  into 
the  mouth. 

Saliva  of 
one  parotid 
escaping. 

Saliva  of 
both  parotids 
escaping. 

Average  duration  of  mastica- 
tion of  one  bolus,  seconds.. 
Strokes  of  teeth,  number  

31.7 
38.6 

34.2 
36.6 

74.8 
74.1 

The  molar  or  grinding  teeth  of  the  horse  wear  faster  than  the 
incisors  or  cutting  teeth,  and  the  former  would  soon  fail  to  meet 
were  it  not  that  the  incisors  with  increasing  age  gradually  incline 
forward,  forming  a  sharper  and  sharper  angle.  The  seeds  of 
plants  are  not  all  crushed  during  mastication,  and  those  escaping 
are  distributed  over  the  fields  in  the  excreta,  often  still  possess- 
ing ability  to  germinate. 

25.  Insalivation. —  While  the  food  is  being  ground,  it  is  modi- 
fied by  the  saliva  poured  upon  it  from  glands  situated  about  the 
mouth  cavity.  By  means  of  ingenious  experiments,  Colin  deter- 
mined the  amount  of  saliva  secreted  by  the  horse,  and  found  that 
when  feeding  on  hay  there  was  poured  out  from  eleven  to  thir- 
teen pounds  of  saliva  per  hour.  Oats  require  a  little  more  than 
their  own  weight,  green  fodder  half,  and  dry  fodder  four  times 
its  weight  of  saliva  during  mastication.  If  the  food  of  the  horse 
for  one  day  amounts  to  11  pounds  of  hay  and  11  pounds  of  other 
dry  fodder,  this  will  require  four  times  its  weight  of  saliva,  or 
88  pounds,  to  which  must  be  added  4.4  pounds  secreted  during 
rest,  making  92.4  pounds  in  all. 


14  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Smith.1  states  that  the  ox  secretes  112  pounds  of  saliva  daily. 
In  the  horse  the  parotid  glands,  located  at  the  base  of  the  upper 
jaw  and  emptying  near  the  second  molar  teeth,  yield  seven- tenths 
of  all  the  saliva  secreted. 

Animals  chew  their  food  on  one  side  of  the  mouth  only  at  a 
time.  It  has  been  found  that  the  parotid  gland  of  the  horse  yields 
saliva  only  on  the  side  where  the  food  is  being  masticated,  the 
other  gland  resting  until  grinding  starts  up  on  its  side.  The 
chemical  composition  of  mixed  saliva,  which  varies  somewhat  in 
different  animals,  is  given  for  the  horse  as  follows: 

Water 992.00 

Mucus  and  albumen 2.00 

Alkaline  carbonates 1.08 

Alkaline  chlorids 4.92 

Alkaline  phosphates  and  phosphate  of  lime traces. 

1000.00 

The  mechanical  use  of  saliva  has  been  mentioned;  it  serves  a 
second  and  higher  purpose.  Saliva  contains  ptyalin,  a  soluble 
ferment  which  converts  the  starch  of  the  food  into  sugar.  It  acts 
only  upon  the  starchy  matters  of  the  food  and  not  upon  the  cellu- 
lose or  other  constituents.  Since  the  food  remains  in  the  mouth 
a  comparatively  short  time,  but  little  starch  can  be  changed  to 
sugar  before  the  mass  is  swallowed.  The  action  of  the  saliva  on 
starch  continues  in  the  stomach. 

26.  Deglutition. —  The  bolus  or  rounded  mass  of  food  formed  by 
the  action  of  the  teeth,  the  cheeks  and  the  tongue  is  forced  into 
the  oesophagus  or  gullet  and  on  into  the  stomach.     The  gullet  of 
the  horse  being  comparatively  small,  the  boluses  do  not  exceed 
an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter ;  in  the  ox  they  may 
be  double  that  size. 

27.  Gastric  digestion. —  The  stomachs  of  our  domestic  animals 
vary  greatly  in  size,  that  of  the  hog  holding  7  to  9  quarts,  the 
horse  17  to  19,  and  the  ox  over  300  quarts.    Colin,  who  gives  the 
above  data,  found  145  pounds  of  air- dry  fodder  in  the  first  three 
compartments  of  the  stomach  of  a  cow  which  had  fasted  two 

1  Physiology  of  the  Domestic  Animals. 


Mastication,  Digestion  and  Assimilation.  15 

days.  The  stomach  of  the  ox  is  never  without  considerable  con- 
tent, even  after  long  starvation.  The  digestion  of  the  starchy 
matter  of  the  food  through  action  of  the  saliva  continues  in  the 
stomach.  After  the  food 'enters  the  stomach  a  churning  motion 
is  set  up  which  causes  it  to  travel  from  the  place  of  entrance  to- 
ward the  exit.  While  this  motion  is  going  on,  a  fluid  is  being 
poured  upon  it  from  the  lining  of  the  stomach.  This  fluid  is  at 
first  alkaline,  but  gradually  becomes  more  and  more  acid. 

The  amount  of  gastric  fluid  poured  out  has  not  yet  been  defi- 
nitely determined.     Some  writers  place  it  as  high  as  one-fourth 
the  weight  of  the  body  daily,  others  a  tenth,  and  others  even  less. 
The  composition  of  the  gastric  fluid  of  the  sheep  is  as  follows: 

Water 986.14 

Organic  matter  (especially  ferments) 4. 05 

Sodium  chlorid 4.37 

Calcium  chlorid 0. 11 

Hydrochloric  acid 4.05 

Potassium  chlorid 1.52 

Ammonium  chlorid 0.47 

Calcium  phosphate 1.18 

Magnesium  phosphate 0.57 

Ferric  phosphate 0.33 

The  constituents  of  the  gastric  juice  which  effect  changes  are 
pepsin,  rennet  and  acid.  Pepsin  is  a  soluble  ferment  which  acts 
upon  the  food  only  in  the  presence  of  dilute  acid.  Rennet  has 
the  power  of  curdling  milk,  one  part  coagulating  400,000  parts 
of  casein.  Cane  sugar  is  not  fermentable  and  cannot  be  assimi- 
lated until  it  is  changed  to  glucose  and  laevulose.  Hydrochloric 
acid  is  present  in  considerable  amount  in  the  gastric  juice.  Cane 
sugar  in  the  food  is  slowly  changed  by  this  acid  into  laevulose 
and  glucose.  The  main  action  of  the  gastric  juice  is,  however, 
in  converting  the  albuminoids  into  peptones,  leaving  the  fatty 
matter  and  cellulose  to  be  attacked  later.  The  stomach  of  the 
horse  is  so  small  that  it  cannot  contain  a  full  feed  at  one  time, 
and  consequently  that  portion  which  is  first  eaten  is  usually 
pushed  on  from  the  stomach  into  the  small  intestines  before  it 
has  been  long  acted  on  by  the  gastric  juice. 


lt>  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

28.  Gastric  digestion  of  ruminants. —  The  stomach  of  the  ox 
and  sheep  is  large  and  has  four  apartments,  viz. —  the  rumen,  or 
paunch,  the  first  stomach;  the  honey  comb  or  reticulumj  the  second 
stomach;  the  manyplies  or  omasum,  the  third  stomach;  and  the 
fourth  stomach,  called  the  rennet  or  dbomasum.  The  fourth 
stomach  corresponds  to  the  single  stomach  of  non-ruminants, — 
the  horse,  pig,  etc.  After  mastication  the  food  passes  from  the 
mouth  into  the  paunch,  or  first  stomach.  The  first  three  stomachs 
secrete  no  fluid.  In  the  rumen  the  food  becomes  very  soft  and 
moist,  owing  to  the  large  amount  of  saliva  secreted  and  because 
most  of  the  water  drank  passes  into  it.  The  action  of  the  saliva 
in  converting  starch  into  sugar  continues,  and  a  very  considerable 
amount  of  cellulose  may  be  digested  through  fermentations, 
which  are  favored  by  the  high  temperature  and  the  moisture  of 
the  contents.  The  main  purpose  of  the  rumen  is  to  serve  as  a 
storehouse  for  food.  The  second  stomach,  or  reticuluin,  which 
is  really  a  chamber  or  part  of  the  paunch,  contains  much  fluid, 
and  serves  to  force  the  food  into  the  oesophagus  for  rumination, 
The  food,  being  returned  to  the  mouth,  is  reduced  to  greater  fine- 
ness by  chewing,  after  which  it  is  again  swallowed.  The  second 
time  it  passes  either  to  the  rumen  or  the  third  stomach.  It  is 
probable  that  on  being  re-swallowed  most  of  the  food  again  drops 
back  into  the  paunch,  and  from  here  the  finer  portions  are  forced 
directly  into  the  third  stomach.  Like  the  first  and  second,  the 
third  stomach  gives  off  no  secretions,  and  whatever  changes 
occur  in  it  must  be  due  to  the  action  of  the  saliva  or  to  fermen- 
tations begun  in  the  two  preceding  stomachs.  The  action  of  the 
first  three  stomachs  on  food  is  preparatory,  for  the  most  part,  t» 
what  occurs  in  the  fourth.  The  food  having  been  thoroughly 
prepared  by  re- chewing  and  by  maceration  in  the  first  three 
stomachs,  digestion  goes  on  rapidly  in  the  fourth.  Here,  as  in 
the  stomach  of  the  horse,  the  albuminoids  are  changed  to  pep  - 
tones.  Tissues  are  dissolved  and  their  oil  contents  set  free.  Cane 
sugar  is  to  some  extent  converted  into  invert  sugar  by  the  action 
of  acid.  Starch  which  escapes  conversion  into  sugar  in  the 
rumen  passes  on  into  the  intestines.  Owing  to  the  very  thorough 
preparation  of  the  food  in  the  first  three  stomachs,  gastric  diges- 


Mastication,  Digestion  and  Assimilation.  17 

tion  in  the  true  stomach  of  the  ox  and  sheep  is  more  perfect  than 
in  that  of  the  horse  and  pig.  In  suckling  ruminants  the  first 
three  stomachs  are  less  developed  than  in  grown  animals.  Colin 
found  that  the  rumen  of  a  calf  held  2.6  pounds,  the  reticulum 
.22,  the  manyplies  .35  pounds,  and  the  abomasum,  or  true 
stomach,  7.7  pounds.  As  the  diet  of  the  animal  is  changed  to 
solid  food,  grass,  hay  and  grains,  the  first  stomach  gradually  in- 
creases in  size,  and  attains  the  proportionate  volume  which  it 
has  in  grown-up  animals.  It  then  holds  nine  times  as  much  as 
the  other  three  stomachs  combined. 

29.  Bile. —  Passing  into  the  small  intestine,  the  food  is  subjected 
to  the  action  of  three  other  secretions, —  bile,  pancreatic  juice 
and  intestinal  secretion. 

The  bile  is  a  greenish  fluid  of  a  neutral  or  alkaline  reaction 
secreted  by  the  liver,  the  largest  single  organ  of  the  body.  The 
composition  of  bile  is  given  as  follows: 

Ox.  Pig. 

Water 90.4  88.8 

Solids 9.6  11.2 

Bile  salts ^ 

Lecithin,  cholesterin. .  >•  8.0  9.5 

Fats,  soaps j 

Mucin  and  coloring  matter 0.3  0.6 

Inorganic  salts 1.3  1.1 

According  to  Colin  the  liver  of  the  horse  forms  over  13  pounds 
of  bile,  the  ox  5.7,  and  the  sheep  .75  pounds  each  24  hours.  The 
flow  of  bile  is  continuous,  increasing  somewhat  as  the  food  passes 
into  the  small  intestine.  Bile  contains  a  ferment  in  small  amount, 
capable  of  converting  starch  into  sugar.  Its  main  use  is  to  aid 
in  the  absorption  of  fats.  In  the  small  intestine  some  of  the  fat 
of  the  food  is  broken  up  into  glycerin  and  fatty  acids;  the  latter 
unite  with  the  alkalies  of  the  bile  and  pancreatic  juice  and  form 
soaps.  These  soaps  aid  in  forming  and  holding  the  remaining 
fat  in  permanent  emulsion.  Bile  facilitates  the  passage  of  the 
emulsified  fat  through  the  membranes  of  the  intestines,  thus 
aiding  in  its  absorption.  It  is  not  only  a  secretion  in  aid  of 
digestion,  but  also  an  excretion  or  waste  product.  It  prevents, 
putrefaction  and  decomposition  of  the  food  in  the  intestinal  canaL 
2 


18  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

30.  Pancreatic  juice. —  This  colorless,  alkaline  fluid,  secreted  by 
the  pancreas  or  i  i  sweet  breads, ' '  is  poured  into  the  intestine  at  the 
same  time  and  at  about  the  same  point  as  the  bile,  so  that  these 
fluids  act  together.    The  pancreatic  secretion  contains  more  solids 
than  the  others  mentioned,  and  has  therefore  a  high   specific 
gravity.     It  is  closely  allied  to  blood  serum  in  composition,  and 
contains  four  ferments,  one  of  which  splits  fats  into  glycerin  and 
fatty  acids 5  another  converts  starch  into  sugar;  a  third  resolves 
protein  compounds  into  soluble  peptones,  while  a  fourth  curdles 
milk.     In  one  way  the  pancreatic  juice  resembles  saliva,  in  that 
it  converts  starch  into  sugar.     One  part  of  the  active  ferment  of 
the  pancreatic  fluid  will  convert  40,000  times  its  own  weight  of 
starch  into  sugar  and  dextrin.     Like  bile,  it  converts  fat  into 
fatty  acids  and  glycerin;  like  pepsin,  it  converts  protein  sub- 
stances into  peptones.     Unlike  the  gastric  juice,  the  pancreatic 
secretion  acts  upon  protein  in  an  alkaline  solution.     Colin  and 
others  place  the  maximum  secretion  of  pancreatic  juice  in  the 
horse  at  three-fifths  of  a  pound  per  hour. 

31.  Large  intestine. —  The  processes  of  digestion  are  continued 
in  the  large  intestine  (colon)  of  the  Herbivora.     The  stomach  of 
the  horse  being  small,  that  organ  together  with  the  small  intes- 
tine has  not  sufficient  capacity  to  accommodate  the  bulky,  com- 
paratively indigestible  food  usually  supplied  this  animal,  and  is 
supplemented  by  the  large  intestine,  which  has  a  capacity  of  five 
or  six  times  the  stomach,  permitting  the  retention  of  a  large 
quantity  of  food.     The  large  intestine  of  the  ox,  which  is  smaller 
in  proportion  than  that  of  the  horse,  serves  the  same  purpose. 

The  main  office  of  the  large  intestine  is  to  serve  as  a  storage 
place  for  the  mixed  food  materials  and  digestive  juices  coming 
from  the  small  intestines,  allowing  continued  action  by  the  latter. 
Here  a  partial  digestion  of  cellulose  takes  place  through  fermen- 
tations, all  of  the  juices  secreted  by  the  various  digestive  organs 
being  without  effect  on  this  component.  The  digestion  of  cellu- 
lose is  as  yet  not  clearly  understood,  but  it  seems  that  under  cer- 
tain conditions  gaseous  products,  mainly  marsh  gas,  are  formed 
in  its  fermentations.  The  value  of  cellulose  has  for  this  reason 
been  questioned;  but  the  best  authorities  hold  that  the  digestive 


Mastication,  Digestion  and  Assimilation. 


19 


portion  possesses  considerable  nutritive  value,  although  not  as 
much  as  starch  or  sugar. 

32.  Intestines  and  stomachs  of  farm  animals. —  The  length 
and  capacity  of  the  intestines  and  the  capacity  of  the  stomach 
of  different  farm  animals  are  as  follows: 

Length  of  intestines  and  capacity  of  stomachs  of  farm  animals. 


Length  of  intestine. 

Capacity  of  stomach  and 
intestine. 

Animal. 

Average  length. 

ft 

-Q  S3  03 
g«3 

,53 

a12« 

lls 

I^-S 

ifi 

c-SZl 

l^/os 

Average  capacity. 

1 

3 

B 

6 

1 

Horse. 
Small  intestine  
Large  intestine  

Feet. 
73.6 
24.5 

3 

1 

1:12 

Horse. 
Stomach 

19.0 
67.4 
137.4 

8.5 
30.2 
61.3 

Small  intestine.. 
Large  intestine.. 

Total  capacity.... 

223.8 

100. 

Ox. 

Small  intestine  
Large  intestine  

150.9 
36.3 

4.1 
1 

1:20 

Ox. 
Stomach  

266.9 
69.7 
40.1 

70.8 
18.5 
10.7 

Small  intestine- 
Large  intestine.. 

Total  capacity.... 

376.7 

100. 

Sheep. 
Small  intestine.... 
Large  intestine.... 

85.9 
21.4 

4 
1 

1:27 

Sheep. 
Rumen 

24.7 
2.1 
1.0 
3.5 
9.5 
5.9 

52.9 
4.5 
2.0 
7.5 
20.4 
12.7 

Betieulum  
Man  vplies  

Abomasum  
Small  intestine. 
Large  intestine. 

Total  capacity.... 

46.7 

i  100. 

Hog. 
Small  intestine.... 
Large  intestine.... 

60.0 
17.1 

3.5 
1 

1:14 

Hog. 
Stomach  

8.5 
9.7 
10.8 

29.2 
33.5 
37.3 

Small  intestine. 
Large  intestine. 

Total  capacity.... 

29.0 

100. 

20  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Food  requires  from  three  to  four  days  to  pass  through  the 
whole  digestive  tract  of  farm  animals.  The  last  traces  do  not 
pass  until  considerably  later.  According  to  Weiske,  *  it  takes 
from  seven  to  eight  days  before  the  last  traces  pass  the  digestive 
canal  in  case  of  the  sheep.  (541) 

33.  The  intestinal  juice. —  The  juices  secreted  by  the  small 
glands  along  the  inner  walls  of  the  small  intestine  contain  three 
ferments  which  act  upon  starch,  cane  sugar  and  protein.     Starch 
is  readily  converted  into  sugar  by  the  intestinal  juice  in  a  neu- 
tral or  faintly  alkaline  solution.     The  juice  further  contains  a 
special  ferment  which  changes   cane    sugar  into  glucose  and 
laevulose. 

34.  Fermentations. —  Numerous  organisms  which  find  their  way 
into  the  small  intestine  along  with  food  substances  give  rise  to 
fermentations,  causing  the  evolution  of  various  gases,  mainly  air, 
carbonic  acid,  hydrogen,   ammonia,   sulfuretted  hydrogen  and 
marsh  gas. 

35.  Absorption. —  The  stomach  and  intestines  form  a  convoluted 
tube  passing  through  the  body.     Food  materials  within  this  tube 
are  still  outside  the  body.     The  entrance  of  digestion  products 
into  the  body  is  brought  about  by  absorption,  which  is  of  two 
kinds.     The  inner  walls  of  the  digestive  tract  are  everywhere 
lined  with  blood  vessels,  and  substances  soluble  in  water  and 
readily  diffusible,  such  as  sugar,  soaps,  salts  and  peptones,  enter 
the  blood  by  diffusion. 

The  inner  surface  of  the  small  intestine  is  also  lined  with  cone- 
like  projections  called  "villi."  The  cells  of  these  villi  separate 
from  the  fluid  contents  of  the  intestines,  sugar,  fat,  peptones, 
salts  and  other  materials,  and  deliver  them  into  ducts  of  the 
lymphatic  system,  by  which  they  are  carried  forward  toward  the 
heart,  to  be  mingled  with  the  blood.  The  material  drawn  into 
the  lymphatics  by  the  villi  is  called  chyle,  a  substance  having  a 
milky  appearance  owing  to  the  fat  held  in  suspension.  The  fat  in 
the  chyle  of  a  horse  may  vary  from  1  per  cent,  when  fed  on  hay, 
to  3  per  cent,  when  fed  on  oats.  The  composition  of  chyle  is 
given  in  the  table  on  the  next  page. 

1  Journal  f.  Landw.,  1878,  p.  175. 


Mastication,  Digestion  and  Assimilation. 
Composition  of  chyle. 


21 


0 

X. 

Co 

w. 

Before 
rumination. 

After 
rumination. 

Fed  with 
hay  and 
straw. 

Fed  with 
straw  and 
clover. 

Water  

950.89 

929.71 

951.24 

962.21 

Fibrin  

1.76 

1.96 

2.82 

0.93 

Albuminoids 

39.74 

59  64 

38  84 

26.48 

Fats. 

0.81 

2.55 

0.72 

0.49 

Salts,  soluble  in  alco- 
hol   

2.47 

2.50 

2.77 

1.92 

Salts,  soluble  in  water 

4.33 

3.61 

3.59 

7.97 

36.  The  circulatory  system. —  The  arteries  are  the  tubes  or 
canals  which  carry  the  blood  from  the  heart.     As  these  tubes 
pass  throughout  the  body  they  branch  again  and  again,  gradually 
growing  smaller,  until  they  end  in  minute  divisions  called  capil- 
laries.    The  ends  of  the  capillaries  connect  in  turn  with  the 
veins,  which  carry  the  blood  back  to  the  heart.     The  purified 
blood  forced  outward  from  the  heart  through  the  arteries  reaches 
the  capillaries,  through  which  portions  escape  to  nourish  the 
tissues  of  the  body.     That  which  is  not  lost  through  the  capilla- 
ries, together  with  the  impurities  gathered  on  the  way,  returns  to 
the  heart,  whence  it  is  forced  to  the  lungs  for  purification.    From 
these  it  returns  to  the  heart,  to  be  again  forced  over  the  body. 

37.  The  lymphatics. —  Besides  the  circulatory  system  there  is 
a  second  one  which  drains  the  whole  animal  body  toward  the 
heart  only,  called  the  " Lymphatic  system."     The  broken-down 
tissues  of  the  body  are  removed  through  the  lymphatic  system, 
and  the  material  thus  drained  is  called  lymph.     Lymph  varies 
in  composition  according  to  the  stage  of  activity  of  the  organs 
contributing  it  and  the  locality  from  which  it  is  taken.     Lymph 
and  chyle,  the  one  worn-out  material  from  the  tissues  of  the  body, 
the  other  fresh  material  from  the  digestive  tract,  are  poured 
through  the  lymphatics  into  the  venous  system  and  on  to  the 
heart,  where  they  mingle  with  the  blood  current.     It  is  estimated, 
that  for  every  220  pounds  body  weight  there  are  7.5  pounds  of 
lymph  and  6  pounds  of  chyle  formed  daily. 


22  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

38.  The  biood. —  Blood  is  the  circulating  medium  of  the  body, 
bearing  in  its  current  both  the  elements  of  nutrition  and  waste. 
The  composition  of  the  blood  of  a  horse  is  given  as  follows: 

100  Parts  Venous  Blood. 

Corpuscles 32.62 

Plasma 67.38 

100  Parts  Plasma. 

Solids  9.16 

Water..  ...?...  .  90.84 


Fibrin 1.01 

Albumen 7.76 

Eats 0.12 

Extractives  0.40 

Soluble  salts 0.64 

Insoluble  salts 0.17 

The  blood  of  the  horse  has  been  estimated  at  one-eighteenth 
the  weight  of  the  body.  Colin  places  the  blood  of  the  ox  at  one 
twenty-third  the  body  weight.  Numerous  attempts  have  been 
made  to  ascertain  the  time  required  for  the  blood  to  make  a  com- 
plete circuit  of  the  body.  Vierordt  places  the  period  of  circula- 
tion for  the  horse  at  31.5  seconds.  In  the  case  of  the  ox  it  is 
estimated  that  three  pints  of  blood  are  driven  through  the  left 
ventricle  of  the  heart  at  each  beat,  and,  since  there  are  about 
fifty  beats  per  minute,  the  circulation  must  be  very  rapid.  The 
surging  movement  of  the  blood  through  the  artery  constitutes 
the  pulse,  and  each  movement  marks  a  beat  of  the  heart.  The 
frequency  of  the  pulse  in  our  domestic  animals  has  been  placed 

as  follows:  Beats 

per  minute. 

In  the  horse 36  —  40 

•In  the  ox 45  —  50 

In  the  pig...., 70  —  80 

In  the  sheep 70  —  80 

The  frequency  of  the  pulse  varies  greatly  with  age,  as  shown  by 
the  following  table: 

Heart  beats  per  minute. 

Horse.  Ox. 

Newborn 100  —  120  92  —  132 

One-fourth  year  old 68  —  76  

One  year  old 48—  56  50—  68 

Eour  years  of  age 38  —   50  56  — 

Aged 32—   40  45—   50 


Mast  teat  ion  j  Digestion  and  Assimilation.  i':> 

39.  Respiration. —  We  have  seen  that  the  blood  is  being  con- 
stantly reinforced  with  nutriment.     At  the  same  time  it  is  taking 
up  the  waste  matter  of  the  body  which  must  be  removed.     This 
is  accomplished  in  part  by  the  lungs,  into  which  the  blood  is 
forced  from  the  heart.     By  a  mechanical  movement  of  the  ribs  the 
lungs  are  expanded  and  a'ir  is  drawn  into  them.    Respiration  varies 
greatly  in  different  animals,  and  at  different  ages  for  the  same 
animal,  as  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Respirations  pei~  minute. 

In  young  horse 10  — 12 

Adult  horse 9  —  20 

Young  ox 18  —  20 

Adult  ox 15  —  18 

Lamb  16  —  17 

Sheep 13  —  16 

While  in  the  lungs,  the  blood  takes  up  oxygen  from  the  inspired 
air,  and  the  expired  air  carries  with  it  carbonic  acid  and  water 
eliminated  by  the  blood.  The  difference  between  the  air  as  it 
passes  into  the  lungs  and  as  it  comes  from  them  is  shown  in  the 
following  table: 

Oxygen.       Nitrogen.    Carbonic  acid. 

Inspired  air  contains 20. 81  79. 15  . 04 

Expired  air  contains 16.033  79.557  4.380 

The  expired  air  therefore  contains  from  4  to  5  per  cent,  less 
oxygen  and  that  much  more  carbonic  acid  than  the  inspired  air. 
Considerable  moisture  also  escapes  with  the  expired  air,  and  a 
small  amount  of  other  products  in  the  form  of  organic  matter. 
The  amount  of  watery  vapor  given  off  by  a  man  is  estimated  at 
1.5  pounds  per  day. 

40.  Excretion  from  the  kidneys. —  A  large  portion  of  the  water 
taken  into  the  body  is  filtered  from  the  blood  as  it  passes  through 
the  kidneys,  from  which  organs  it  is  conveyed  to  the  bladder. 
The  amount  of  water  excreted  through  the  kidneys  is  dependent 
upon  the  quantity  drank  and  that  in  the  food. 

Boussingault  found  the  composition  of  the  urine  of  a  horse 
fed  oats,  clover  and  grass,  a  cow  fed  hay  and  potatoes,  and  a  pig 
led  cooked  potatoes,  to  be  as  follows: 


24  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Horse.  Cow.  Pig. 

Urea 31.0  18.5  4.9 

Potass,  hippurate 4.7  16.5  0.0 

Alkaline  lactates 20.1  17.2        

Potass,  bicarb 15.5  16.1  10.7 

Mag.  carb .     4.2  4.7  0.9 

Calcium  carb 10.8  0.6  traces. 

Potass,  sulph 1.2  3.6  2.0 

Sodium  chlorid 0.7  1.5  1.3 

Silica 1.0  traces.  0.1 

Phosphates 0.0  0.0  1.0 

Water  and  undetermined  substances 910. 0  921. 3  979. 1 

1000.00  1000.00  1000.00 

41.  Composition  of  urine. —  The  leading  characteristic  of  urine 
is  urea,  which  is  the  product  of  the  decomposition  of  the  albu- 
minoid substances  or  tissues  of  the  animal  body.    The  other  means 
of  escape  for  this  waste  are  so  small  that  by  measuring  the  nitrogen 
in  the  urine  the  nitrogenous  waste  of  the  body  can  be  very  closely 
determined, —  a  fact  of  the  highest  importance.    (57)     Most  of 
the  potash  taken  from  the  food  passes  away  in  the  urine,  while 
only  a  small  amount  of  phosphates  is  contained  therein.   (416) 

42.  Excretions  of  the  skin. —  Water  passes  off  through  the 
sweat  glands  of  the  skin,  carrying  a  very  small  per  cent,  of  solids. 
The  moisture  given  off  by  the  sweat  glands  of  a  man  is  placed  at 
from  one  to  two  pounds  daily,  although  it  may  be  increased  to 
five  pounds.    The  perspiration  of  animals  has  not  been  deter- 
mined.    Carbonic  acid  gas  and  traces  of    ammonia  and  free 
nitrogen  are  also  given  off  by  the  skin. 

43.  Protein  nutrition. — The  nitrogenous  substances  of  the  food, 
as  we  have  seen,  are  converted  into  soluble  peptones,  which  are 
taken  up  by  absorption,  principally  through  the  portal  vein, 
only  a  small  portion  entering  the  lymphatics.     In  the  blood  the 
peptone  is  converted  into  serum  albumen,  which  is  conveyed  to 
the  capillaries,  through  which  it  passes,  bathing  and  nourishing 
the  tissues.     The  whole  body  is  made  up  primarily  of  cells  of 
various  forms,  modified  to  meet  each  requirement.     Nourished 
by  the  serum  albumen,  the  cells  may  divide  again  and  again  during 


Mastication,  Digestion  and  Assimilation.  25 

growth,  or7  if  no  growth  occurs,  the  serum  albumen  repairs  the 
waste  of  body  tissue  incident  to  life  and  action. 

44.  Fat  nutrition. —  The  fats  contained  in  the  food  are  largely 
absorbed  unchanged  in  the  form  of  an  emulsion.     A  small  per- 
centage of  fat  enters  the  blood  through  the  blood  vessels  lining  the 
intestines,  but  the  larger  portion  through  the  lymphatics.   Though 
fats  enter  the  circulation  unchanged,  they  are  generally  in  some 
manner  modified  by  the  animal  consuming  them,  so  that  when 
built  into  fatty  tissue  that  of  each  species  has  its  own  character- 
istics. 

45.  Carbohydrate  nutrition. —  The  carbohydrates  are  converted 
into  some  form  of  sugar,  which  enters  the  blood  by  absorption 
from  the  intestinal  canal.     In  the  liver,  sugar  is  converted  into 
glycogen  and  held  as  reserve,  or  it  is  rapidly  oxidized  into  car- 
bonic acid  and  water,  the  intermediate  products  being  unknown. 
Carbohydrates  in  excess  of  immediate  requirement  may  be  con- 
verted into  fat  and  stored  in  the  body.    There  is  no  starch  in  the 
bodv  of  animals. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DIGESTION,    RESPIRATION  AND    CALORIMETEY. 

I.  Digestibility  of  Feeding  Stuffs. 

46.  Variation    in  digestibility  of  feeding   stuffs. —  The   leading 
quality  of  feeding  stuffs  is  digestibility.     Milk  is  practically  all 
digestible.     Most  of  the  nutrients  in  corn  meal  yield  to  the 
digestive  solvents,  while  rye  straw  is  of  such  character  that  a 
large  portion  of  its  substance  is  indigestible,  and  therefore  inert 
in  the  alimentary  tract.     In  studying  the  digestibility  of  a  given 
feed,  the  chemist  first  determines  by  analysis  the  percentage  of 
each  of  the  nutrients  it  contains.     Weighed  quantities  of  the 
feed  are  then  given  to  some  animal  and  the  solid  excrement 
voided  during  the  trial  is  saved,  weighed  and  samples  of  it 
analyzed.     Knowing  how  much  of  each  nutrient  was  fed  and 
how  much  re-appears  in  the  solid  excrement,  the  difference  is 
held  to  be  the  portion  digested,  since  it  must  have  been  retained 
in  the  body. 

47.  A  digestion  trial  with  sheep. —  As  illustrating  the  manner 
of  conducting  digestion  trials,  the  following  description  is  given 
of  one   conducted  by  Armsby  with    sheep   at  the  Wisconsin 
Station. l     Desiring  to  ascertain  the  digestibility  of  clover  hay 
and  malt  sprouts  by  sheep,  two  wethers  weighing  87  pounds  each 
were  selected    for  the    trial.     They  were   closely  confined  in 
separate  apartments  specially  constructed  for  the  purpose,  and 
fed  from  zinc-lined  feed  boxes  arranged  to  prevent  the  fodder 
from  being  wasted.     Each  day's  ration  was  carefully  weighed 
and  samples  reserved  for  analysis.     The  solid  excrement  as  it 
passed  from  the  wethers  was  collected  by  means  of  rubber-lined 
bags  attached  to  the  hind  quarters  of  the  animal  by  a  light  har- 
ness.    These  bags  were  emptied  every  twenty-four  hours  and  the 

1  Rept.  1884. 


Digestion,  Respiration  and  Color imetry. 


27 


contents  weighed  and  sampled  for  analysis.  Feeding  progressed 
six  days  before  the  experiment  began,  in  order  that  all  residues 
of  previous  feed  might  have  passed  from  the  alimentary  tract. 
During  the  first  period  each  sheep  was  fed  700  grams  (about  1.5 
pounds)  of  clover  hay  daily,  this  allowance  being  consumed 
without  waste.  Water  was  freely  supplied.  The  average  amount 
and  composition  of  the  food  eaten,  and  the  solid  excrement 
voided  daily,  are  summarized  in  the  following  table: 

Digestion  trial  with  sheep  fed  clover  hay,  average  for  one  day  — 
Wisconsin  Station. 


Dry 
matter. 

Protein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitrogen 
-free 
extract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Fed  700  grains  hay,  containing 
Excreted  610.6  grams  dung, 
containing            

Grams. 
586.1 

288.6 

Grams. 

77.7 

40.4 

Grams. 
191.5 

101.5 

Grams. 
276.7 

119.4 

Grams. 
10.7 

7.9 

Digested  

297.5 

37.3 

90.0 

157.3 

2.8 

Per  cent  digested 

50.8 

48.0 

47.1 

56.8 

26.2 

The  table  shows  that  in  the  700  grams  of  hay  fed  there  were 
586.1  grains  of  dry  matter,  and  in  the  solid  excrement  for  one 
day,  288.6  grams,  leaving  a  difference  of  297.5  grams,  or  50.8  per 
cent.,  which  is  held  to  be  the  amount  of  dry  matter  digested  for 
the  first  period  of  the  first  trial.  The  average  for  two  trials  was 
51.2  per  cent.  Of  the  77.7  grams  of  protein  supplied  in  the 
ration,  40.4  grams  appeared  in  the  solid  excrement.  The  differ- 
ence, 37.3  grams,  or  48  per  cent.,  represents  the  amount  of  pro- 
tein which  must  have  been  digested  and  taken  into  the  body  of 
the  sheep  from  the  alimentary  tract.  In  the  same  manner  the 
percentage  of  the  other  nutrients  digested  was  determined.  The 
average  percentage  of  each  nutrient  digested  in  a  given  feeding 
stuff  is  termed  the  "  coefficient  of  digestibility,"  for  that  nutrient 
and  feed. 

48.  Digestibility  of  malt  sprouts. —  Having  ascertained  the 
digestibility  of  clover  hay,  Armsby  added  to  the  ration  an  allow- 
ance of  malt  sprouts.  The  sheep  remained  in  the  stanchions  as 
before,  and  were  fed  600  grams  of  clover  hay  and  175  grams  of 


28 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


malt  sprouts.  Weights  and  analyses  of  feed  and  excrement  were 
made  as  before.  The  digestibility  of  the  malt  sprouts  as  deter- 
mined in  this  trial  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  trial  with  sheep  to  ascertain  the  digestibility  of  malt  sprouts, 
average  for  one  day's  feeding  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Dry 

matter. 

Protein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitrogen 
-free 
extract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Fed  600  grams  hay  

Grams. 
500.9 

Grams. 
67.4 

Grams. 
163.3 

Grams. 
236.3 

Grams. 
9.4 

Fed  175  grains  malt  sprouts... 

154.1 

36.8 

21.0 

87.5 

2.2 

Total 

655.0 

104.2 

184.3 

323.8 

11.6 

Excreted  681.1  grains  dung.... 

295.2 

41.5 

100.6 

129.0 

5.5 

Digested,  total  

359.8 

62.7 

83.7 

194.8 

6.1 

Digested  from  hay 

256  4 

33  2 

76  8 

135  2 

3  8 

Digested  from  malt  sprouts... 
Per  cent,  digested      

103.4 
67.1 

29.5 

80.2 

6.9 
32.9 

59.6 
68.1 

2.3 
104.6 

The  digestibility  of  malt  sprouts  is  determined  indirectly  in 
the  following  manner:  The  dry  matter  fed  in  the  clover  hay  and 
malt  sprouts  equals  655  grams.  The  excreted  dry  matter  equals 
295.2  grams,  so  that  the  total  quantity  digested  is  the  difference, 
359.8  grams.  In  the  previous  trial,  as  the  average  of  two  periods, 
it  was  found  that  51.2  per  cent,  of  the  dry  matter  in  clover  hay  was 
digestible.  Multiplying  509  grams  by  this  factor,  256.4  results, 
which  represents  the  quantity  of  dry  matter  in  the  hay  which 
was  digested.  Subtracting  this  from  359.8  grams,  there  is  left 
103.4  grams,  or  67.1  per  cent.,  which  must  be  the  dry  matter 
digested  from  the  malt  sprouts.  In  this  manner  the  several 
digestion  coefficients  for  malt  sprouts  are  determined.  The  table 
reports  104. 6  per  cent,  of  the  ether  extract  of  the  malt  sprouts 
digested  —  an  absurdity.  Such  a  result  may  be  due  to  an  error 
in  the  work,  or  more  probably  to  the  fact  that  more  ether  extract 
was  digested  from  the  clover  hay  in  the  second  trial  than  in  the 
first  one.  The  statement  relative  to  ether  extract  in  the  next 
article  may  have  a  bearing  on  this  result. 

49.  Digestibility  of  food  nutrients. —  Errors  in  digestion  experi- 
ments arise,  among  other  causes,  from  the  addition  of  bile  prod- 


Digestion,  Eespiration  and  Calorimetry.  2D 

nets  to  the  excreta  as  well  as  gummy  substances  originating  from 
tissue  changes  of  the  alimentary  tract. 

The  digestibility  of  protein  in  coarse  fodders  varies  widely, 
ranging  from  35  to  80  per  cent.  Usually  the  higher  the  ratio  of 
protein  to  non-nitrogenous  constituents  in  a  feed  the  greater  the 
percentage  of  the  protein  digested. 

Of  the  crude  fiber  from  30  to  70  per  cent,  is  digestible  by 
ruminants,  while  for  the  pig  and  the  horse  it  is  considerably  less. 
The  larger  utilization  of  cellulose  by  ruminants  is  probably  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  food  undergoes  more  thorough  preparation  for 
digestion  in  the  primary  stomachs.  The  addition  to  the  ration 
of  a  food  rich  in  protein  aids  the  digestion  of  cellulose. 

The  sum  of  the  digestible  nitrogen-free  extract  and  the  digest- 
ible crude  fiber  about  equals  the  total  nitrogen- free  extract  of  any 
given  feed. 

The  digestibility  of  ether  extract  varies  greatly  in  different 
feeding  stuffs,  ranging  from  30  per  cent,  in  straw  to  over  90  in 
the  cereals.  The  digestibility  of  the  several  compounds  grouped 
under  this  term  cannot  be  as  accurately  determined  as  in  case  of 
the  other  nutrients,  owing  to  a  variety  of  substances  appearing 
in  the  solid  excrement,  which,  although  dissolved  from  it  by 
ether,  cannot  be  considered  as  nutritive  material  that  has  escaped 
digestion.  The  small  quantity  of  the  ether  extract  usually 
present  in  feeding  stuffs  also  renders  the  determination  of  this 
component  more  liable  to  error. 

Zuntz  and  Lehniann  report  that  the  work  of  chewing  the  food 
and  digesting  it,  in  the  case  of  the  horse,  may  represent  a  consid- 
erable proportion  of  the  nutritive  value  of  the  food.  The  effort 
in  chewing  hay  represents  11.2  per  cent.,  and  in  oats  2.8  per 
cent,  of  the  total  energy  yielded  by  the  food. 

50.  Digestion  of  coarse  fodders. —  The  leading  points  of  Wolff's 
lucid  statements  on  this  subject1  are  here  presented,  the  first  ones 
having  reference  to  coarse  fodders  fed  without  the  addition  of 
grain. 

The  quantity  of  fodder  supplied  the  animal  does  not  affect  the 
digestibility  of  the  several  constituents.  Healthy  animals  under 

1  Farm  Foods,  English  edition. 


30  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

normal  conditions  only  eat  as  much  fodder  as  they  can  properly 
digest^  and  the  digestive  fluids  are  no  more  effective  when  operat- 
ing on  small  than  on  large  quantities. 

Contrary  to  general  opinion,  green  fodders  are  no  more  digest- 
ible than  the  same  forage  when  carefully  preserved  by  drying. 
In  practice,  however,  much  of  the  finer  parts  of  the  plant  is  lost 
by  breaking  off  and  falling  to  the  ground  during  the  process  of 
curing.  Dew  and  rain  may  also  effect  changes.  The  loss  of  dry 
matter  through  mechanical  waste  in  curing  may  amount  to  10 
per  cent.,  and  the  digestibility  may  be  reduced  from  4  to  5  per 
cent.,,  or  still  more  if  bad  weather  prevails  during  curing.  The 
storage  of  fodders  even  under  favorable  conditions  for  a  long- 
period  may  decrease  their  digestibility  as  well  as  palatability. 

The  degree  of  maturity  affects  the  digestibility  of  plants.  At 
Moeckern,  oxen  fed  clover  hay  cut  when  coming  into  bloom 
digested  71  per  cent,  of  the  protein,  when  cut  at  time  of  full 
bloom  65  per  cent.,  and  59  per  cent,  when  cut  toward  the  end  of 
blooming. 

Season,  soil  and  manures  influence  the  digestibility  of  fodders. 
Hay  cut  during  three  successive  years  from  the  same  field,  when 
fed  to  sheep,  showed  60,  64  and  65  per  cent.,  respectively,  of 
digestible  protein.  Crushing,  grinding,  steaming  or  fermenting 
food  does  not  increase  its  digestibility,  although  its  palatability 
may  be  thereby  improved.  At  the  Moeckern  Station,  boiled, 
scalded  or  fermented  wheat  bran  showed  decreased  digestibility 
when  fed  to  oxen.  A  keen  appetite  resulting  from  hard  labor 
does  not  increase  the  digestibility  of  feeds. 

Euminants  —  oxen,  cows,  sheep  and  goats  —  digest  the  same 
kind  of  fodder  equally.  Horses  digest  from  1  to  12  per  cent,  less 
of  the  dry  matter  of  hay  than  ruminants.  They  digest  the  pro- 
tein of  hay  equally  well  with  sheep,  but  cannot  make  as  much 
use  of  the  ether  extract.  Horses  digest  from  7  to  10  per  cent, 
less  nitrogen-free  extract  than  sheep,  and  as  much  as  20  per  cent, 
less  crude  fiber.  The  richer  the  feeding  stuff  the  more  nearly 
does  the  horse  approach  the  farm  ruminants  in  the  powers  of 
digestion.  Neither  the  age  nor  the  breed  of  the  animal  affects 
the  powers  of  digestion,  though  single  individuals  often  show 


. 

Digestion,  Respiration  and  Calorimetry.  31 

striking  variations  from  the  normal.  The  range  of  digestibility 
due  to  species,  breed,  age  and  live  weight  does  not,  under  ordi- 
nary conditions,  vary  more  than  from  2  to  4  per  cent. 

51.  Coarse  and  concentrated  feeds  combined. —  When  there  is 
added  to  a  supply  of  coarse  fodder  substances  rich  in  protein, 
such  as  oil  cake,  oats,  etc.,  the  digestibility  of  the  coarse  fodder 
is  not  thereby  increased.     The  addition  of  a  large  quantity  of 
carbohydrates,  such  as  sugar  and  starch,  to  a  ration  of  coarse 
forage,  may  reduce  the  digestibility  of  the  protein  and  crude 
fiber  of  the  forage.     The  depression  in  digestibility  caused  by 
the  addition  of  the  carbohydrates  is  not  apparent  until  the  added 
starch  or  sugar  exceeds  10  per  cent,  of  the  dry  matter  of  the 
coarse  forage,  but  is  marked  by  the  time  the  addition  reaches  30 
percent.     For  example,  at  Weende,  when  sheep  were  fed  1.75 
pounds  of  hay  and  8  ounces  of  starch  per  head  daily,  the  diges- 
tibility of  the  protein  was  reduced  from  54  to  32  per  cent.     The 
depression  is  reduced  or  suspended  by  the  addition  of  a  highly 
nitrogenous  feeding  stuff,  such  as  oil  cake.     The  addition  of  fat 
to  a  ration  does  not  decrease  the  digestibility  of  the  other  constit- 
uents.    Salt  does  not  affect  digestion,  though  it  may  increase 
consumption  of  feed  and  improve  nutrition. 

The  student  should  not  confound  the  digestibility  of  feeding 
stuffs  with  their  final  nutritive  effect.  While  two  animals  may 
each  digest  the  same  amount  of  nutrients  from  the  same  weight 
of  a  given  feed,  one  may  give  far  better  returns  for  the  substances 
taken  into  the  body  than  the  other.  The  utilization  of  the 
nutrients  of  feeding  materials  is  determined  by  the  breed,  indi- 
viduality, condition  of  the  animal,  etc. 

52.  Artificial  digestion. —  While  vigorously  prosecuting  diges- 
tion investigations  with  animals,  the  chemist  has  not  been  idle  in 
his  efforts  to  find  an  easier  and  more  rapid  method  of  reaching 
the  same  end.     Stutzer  has  proposed  a  simple  method  for  deter- 
mining the  digestibility  of  protein,  by  treating  the  substance 
under  investigation  with  weak  solutions  of  pepsin  and  afterwards 
of  pancreatic  fluid,  care  being  taken  to  maintain  the  digesting 
maas  at  the  normal  temperature  of  the  animal  body.     The  fluids 
named  act  only  on  the  protein  of  the  food,  hence  this  method 


32  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

gives  only  the  digestibility  of  that  nutrient.  In  using  this  method 
it  has  been  found  that  the  digestibility  varies  with  the  length  of 
time  the  solution  is  allowed  to  act,  the  temperature  maintained. 
etc.  It  is  therefore  only  fairly  accurate,  but  is  useful  as  a  quick 
method  of  determining  the  relative  digestibility  of  the  substances 
under  comparison,  rather  than  an  absolute  one  for  general  guid- 
ance. G.  Kiihn  has  shown  that  the  results  may  be  reached  bv 
the  use  of  pepsin  solutions  only.  l 

53.  Water  extracts.  —  It  has  been  found  that  the  total  quantity 
of  solid  matter  which  can  be  extracted  from  a  fodder  by  the  use 
of  boiling  water  measures,  with  considerable  accuracy,  the  quan- 
tity of  digestible  nitrogen-free  extract  which  it  contains.     Some 
of  the  dissolved  matter,  however,  is  protein  and  ash,  so  that  this 
method  is  not  directly  accurate,  but  a  guide  rather,  for  practical 
purposes. 

II.  Respiration  Studies. 

54.  The   respiration   apparatus.  —  A  "  respiration  apparatus" 
is  a  device  for  measuring  the  products  of  respiration  of  animals 
confined  therein.     Its  leading  feature  is  an  air-tight  chamber  in 
which  the  animal  experimented  on  is  confined,  with  an  inlet  for 
supplying  fresh  air  and  an  outlet  for  drawing  off  the  air  with  its 
respiration  products.     The  air  entering  the  chamber  as  well  as 
the  gases  drawn  from  it  are  measured  and  analyzed,  to  determine 
the  products  'given  off  by  the  subject  on  trial.     The  most  com- 
plete and  satisfactory  forms  of  the  respiration  apparatus  are  those 
constructed  according  to  the  plan  of  Pettenkofer  of  the  Physio- 
logical Institute  at  Munich,  the  first  of  which  was  built  through 
the  munificence  of  the  King  of  Bavaria.     There  was  recently 
constructed  at  the  Wesleyan  University,  Connecticut,  by  the 
co-operation  of  the  Storrs   (Connecticut)   Experiment  Station 
and  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
a  very  complete  respiration  apparatus  especially  designed  for 
the  study  of  human  nutrition.  ? 

In  conducting  experiments,  animals  or  men,  or  both,  are  placed 
in  the  respiration  chamber.     In  some  cases  labor  is  performed; 


1  Landw.  Vers.  Sta.,  44,  pp.  188-256. 

2  For  a  popular  description  of  this 
obtained,  see  Century  Magazine,  June 


2  For  a  popular  description  of  this  apparatus  and  some  of  the  resul  t 

,  1897. 


Digestion,  Respiration  and  Calorimetry.  33 

at  other  times  the  enclosed  subject  is  kept  as  nearly  in  perfect 
rest  as  possible,  with  or  without  a  normal  food  supply.  These 
studies,  necessarily  difficult,  are  not  only  interesting  but  important 
in  furthering  our  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nutrition. 

The  respiration  apparatus  has  been  used  for  the  study  of  the 
formation  of  fat  and  the  decomposition  of  the  nitrogenous  com- 
ponents of  the  body.  Used  in  connection  with  weighings  and 
analyses  of  food,  water,  and  the  solid  and  liquid  voidings,  the 
chemist  is  able  to  determine  accurately  what  becomes  of  the  nutri- 
ents fed  to  the  animals  under  trial  and  the  waste  products  given 
off  by  them,  thereby  measuring  the  effect  of  any  given  ration. 

55.  An  illustration. —  The  following  example,  taken  from,  one  of 
the  earlier  experiments  by  Henneberg1  at  the  Weende  Station, 
will  illustrate  the  manner  of  studying  the  formation  of  flesh  and 
fat  in  the  body  of  the  ox  by  means  of  the  respiration  apparatus 
and  digestion  experiments. 

The  animal  experimented  on  was  a  full-grown  ox,  which 
weighed  1,570  pounds  when  placed  in  the  respiration  chamber. 
It  was  fed  the  following  ration:  11  pounds  of  clover  hay,  13.2 
pounds  of  oat  straw,  8.2  pounds  of  bean  meal,  2.13  ounces  of 
salt,  and  drank  on  the  average  123.7  pounds  of  water  daily. 
The  results  of  one  day's  trial,  arranged  to  assist  the  student  in 
understanding  the  workings  of  this  method  of  investigation,  are 
here  presented: 

1  Neue  Beitrage,  Goitingen,  1870,  I,  p.  xix;  Kmfft,  Lehrb.  d.  Landw., 
Ill,  p.  17. 
3 


34 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Digestion  trial  with   ox  in  respiration  apparatus,    results  for  one 
day  —  Weende  Station. 

1  kilogram =1000  grams=2.2  pounds. 


Mineral 
•  sub- 
stances. 

Carbon. 

Hydro- 
gen. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Oxygen. 

A.  Consumption, 

70.875  kilograms  of  feed  and 
water,  containing 
12.675  kilograms  dry 
matter     and     58.200 
kilograms  water. 

Grams. 
890 

Grains. 
5  825 

Grams. 
7  215 

Grams. 
310 

Grams. 
56  635 

7.  255  kilograms     a  t  m  o  s- 
pheric  oxygen  

7  255 

78.130        Total 

890 

5  825 

7  215 

310 

63  890 

B.  Production  and  ivastc. 
54  .  550  kilograms       e  x  c  r  e- 
ment,  consisting  of 
40.65  kilograms  solids 
13.90  kilograms  urine 
22  .  545  kilograms  r  e  s  p  i  r  a- 
tion    products,    con- 
sisting of 
9.795  kilograms  carb. 
acid 

575 

305 

2,585 
220 

2  670 

4,205 
1,480 

105 
170 

33,175 
11,725 

7  130 

.030      kilograms 
marsh  gas.. 

20 

10 

12.720  kilograms  water 

1,410 

11,310 

1  .  035  kilograms  increase  in 
body    weight,   made 
up  of 
.  220  kilograms   albu- 
minoids   

116 

15 

35 

55 

.010  kilograms    min- 
eral substances 

10 

.280  kilograms  fat 

214 

35 

30 

.525  kilograms  water 

60 

465 

78.130        Total 

890 

5  825 

7  215 

310 

63,890 

56.  Intake  of  body. —  The  first  division  of  the  table  records 
the  consumption  or  intake  of  the  body  of  the  steer  for  one  day, 
the  results  being  stated  in  kilograms.  Keducing  the  weight  of 
the  several  substances  to  pounds,  we  have  the  following: 

Pounds. 

Oxygen  taken  into  blood  by  way  of  the  lungs 16.0 

Dry  matter  taken  into  the  alimentary  tract 27.8 

Water  drank  and  in  food...  .  128.0 


Total  intake  of  body  for  one  day 171.8 


Digestion,  Respiration  and  Calorimetry.  35 

From  these  data  we  learn  that  in  twenty-four  hours  the  steer  took 
into  the  blood  by  way  of  the  lungs  16  pounds  of  oxygen,  and 
into  the  alimentary  tract  27.8  pounds  of  dry  matter  and  128 
pounds  of  water,  or  171.8  pounds  in  all. 

57.  Waste  products. —  The  second  division  of  the  table  treats 
of  production  and  waste.  Let  us  first  consider  the  waste  by  the 
steer  for  the  day  during  which  the  study  was  conducted.  The 
loss  to  the  body  through  the  several  channels  was  as  follows: 

Pounds. 

Passed  off  as  solid  excrement 89.4 

Passed  off  as  urine 30.6 

Passed  off  as  respiration  products 49.5 


Total  waste 'from  body 169.5 

This  shows  that  there  passed  from  the  steer  as  solid  excrement 
89.4  pounds,  of  urine  30.6  pounds,  while  from  the  lungs  there 
were  given  off  49.5  pounds  of  waste  products,  somewhat  more 
than  one-half  of  which  was  water,  and  a  little  less  than  half  car- 
bonic acid.  The  total  outgo  from  the  body  for  the  day  under 
study,  was  as  shown  above,  169.5  pounds. 

The  decomposition  of  nitrogenous  substances  in  the  body  is 
calculated  from  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  in  the  urine.  As  pro- 
tein contains  16  per  cent,  nitrogen  on  the  average,  the  quantity 
of  protein  corresponding  to  the  nitrogen  in  the  urine  is  found  by 
multiplying  by  iff-,  or  by  6.25.  The  table  shows  that  there  were 
.170  kilograms  of  nitrogen  in  the  urine  of  the  ox.  Multiplying 
this  by  6.25,  there  results  1.062  kilograms  or  2.38  pounds.  This 
sum  measures  both  the  quantity  of  nitrogenous  nutrients  taken 
into  the  body  from,  the  food,  and  the  body  tissues  which  were 
broken  down  and  left  the  body  as  waste  during  the  day  of  the  trial. 

58.  Flesh  production. —  From  the  above  we  have  the  following 
in  relation  to  the  income  and  outgo  of  the  body  of  the  steer  for 
one  day: 

Pounds. 

Total  substance  passing  into  the  body 171.8 

Total  waste  leaving  the  body 169.5 


Amount  retained  in  the  body 2.3 


36  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

This  shows  that  2.3  pounds  or  only  1.3  per  cent,  of  what  entered 
the  body  was  retained  as  a  permanent  portion  thereof,  the  remain- 
der passing  away  as  waste.  Part  of  the  substance  was  inert  mat- 
ter, and  useless,  while  the  larger  part  was  used  as  fuel  for  furnishing 
energy  to  the  body,  and  passed  off  as  waste  after  being  so  used. 

Directing  our  attention  to  the  portion  incorporated  in  the  bodyr 
we  learn  that  35  grams  of  nitrogen  were  not  excreted,  but  retained 
as  a  portion  of  the  body.  Sixteen  per  cent,  of  albuminoid  sub- 
stances is  nitrogen.  The  albuminoid  tissues  representing  this 
quantity  of  nitrogen  are  determined  in  the  following  manner: 

Albuminoids 
Nitrogen.  Per  cent.  or  lean  meat. 

.035  X  -W-  =  .22  kilograms. 

The  albuminoid  tissues  contain  53  per  cent,  carbon.    Accord- 
ingly, the  amount  of  carbon  in  tissue  built  during  the  day  is  a& 
follows: 
Lean  meat.  Per  cent.  Carbon. 

.22  X  -ffo  =  .116  kilograms. 

The  lean  meat  therefore  contained  .116  kilograms  of  carbon. 
There  remains  .214  kilograms  of  carbon,  which  must  have  gone- 
to  form  fat.  Seventy -five  per  cent,  of  fat  is  carbon, —  hence  the 
following: 

Carbon.  Per  cent.  Body  fat. 

.214  -4-  TVV  =  .28  kilograms. 

59.  Summary  of  the  trial. —  From  this  we  learn  that  there  were 
.28  kilograms  of  fat  stored  in  the  body  during  the  day  of  the  trial. 
Arranging  these  results,  together  with  the  mineral  matter  and 
water  retained  in  the  body,  for  convenient  study,  we  learn  that 

the  nutrients  stored  as  increase  were  as  follows: 

Pounds. 

.  22    kilograms  of  albuminoids  or  lean  meat 48 

.28    kilograms  of  fat 61 

.01    kilograms  of  mineral  matter 02 

.525  kilograms  of  water 1.17 

Total  body  increase 2.28 

It  was  shown  that  the  income  to  the  body  exceeded  the  outgo* 
by  2.3  pounds j  the  table  accounts  for  practically  all  of  this  m 


Digestion,  Respiration  and  Calorimetry.  37 

the  2.28  pounds  of  increase.  We  learn  from  the  above  that 
during  one  day  of  the  experiment  the  ox  took  into  its  body  171.8 
pounds  of  material  in  oxygen,  water  and  dry  matter,  and  from  it 
built  up  2.28  pounds  of  body  substance,  which  consisted  of  .48 
pounds  of  albuminoids  or  lean  meat,  .61  pounds  of  fat,  .02 
pounds  of  mineral  matter,  which  went  mainly  to  the  bones,  and 
1.17  pounds  of  water,  placed  mostly  with  the  lean  meat  and,  in 
less  proportion,  with  the  fatty  tissue. 

Where  the  animal  produces  other  substances  than  flesh,  as  in 
the  case  of  sheep  and  milch  cows,  the  method  of  calculating 
production  is  the  same  as  with  oxen,  though  somewhat  more 
complicated. 

III.   Calorimetry. 

60.  Measuring  the  heat  units  of  feeds. —  The  calorimeter  is  a 
device  so  arranged  that  when  a  given  substance  is  burned  therein 
the  heat  given  off  is  taken  up  by  water  and  can  be  accurately 
ascertained.  While  investigations  have  been  in  progress  with 
the  respiration  apparatus  to  determine,  what  becomes  of  the  food 
taken  into  the  body,  other  workers  have  endeavored  by  means  of 
the  calorimeter  to  ascertain  the  heat  units  of  food  materials.  It 
has  been  found  that  the  results  obtained  with  the  respiration 
apparatus  and  the  calorimeter  agree  very  closely;  that  is  to  say, 
in  supplying  the  body  with  fuel,  the  protein,  fat  and  carbohy- 
drates of  the  food  have  been  found  to  replace  each  other  in  almost 
exact  proportion  to  the  heat  units  they  evolve  when  burning. 
Prof.  Eiibner  found  the  quantity  of  material  equal  to  100  parts 
of  fat  to  be  as  follows: 

Equivalent  for  100  parts  of  fat  as  shown  by  tlie  respiration  apparatus 

and  calorimeter. 


Nutritive  substances, 
water-free. 

As  determined  by  ex- 
periments with  animals 
in  respiration  apparatus. 

As  determined  by 
burning  in  the 
calorimeter. 

L*ean  meat  

243 

235 

Starch 

232 

229 

Cane  suo^ar  

234 

235 

Grape  sugar  

256 

255 

38  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

By  this  table  we  learn  that  235  parts  of  lean  meat  when  burned 
in  the  calorimeter  give  off  as  much  heat  as  100  parts  of  fat.  The 
respiration- apparatus  tests  place  the  equivalent  at  243  parts  —  a 
very  close  agreement  with  the  calorimeter.  Starch  evolves 
almost  as  much  heat  as  lean  meat,  and  cane  and  'grape  sugar 
somewhat  more. 

61.  Definition  of  terms. —  The  Calorie  is  a  term  which  desig- 
nates the  amount  of  heat  required  to  raise  the  temperature  of  one 
kilogram  of  water  1°  Centigrade  (or  one  pound  of  water  4° 
Fahr. ).  If  instead  of  the  heat  unit  we  use  the  unit  of  mechanical 
energy,  the  foot- ton,  then  the  Calorie  corresponds  to  1.53  foot- 
tons;  that  is,  its  heat  represents  the  energy  required  to  raise  a 
weight  of  1.53  tons  one  foot  in  height.  In  the  following  table  is 
summarized  the  average  energy  in  one  gram  of  each  of  the  classes 
of  nutrients. 

Potential  energy  in  nutrients  of  food. 

Calories.  Foot-tons. 

In  one  gram  of  protein 4.1  6.3 

In  one  gram  of  fat  (ether  extract) 9.3  14.2 

In  one  gram  of  carbohydrates 4.1  6.3 

These  figures  mean  that  when  a  gram  of  protein,  whether  of 
body  substance  or  furnished  in  feeding  stuffs,  is  consumed  in  the 
body,  it  will,  if  transformed  into  heat,  yield  enough  heat  to  raise 
the  temperature  of  4.1  kilograms  of  water  1°  C.,  or,  if  trans- 
formed into  mechanical  energy,  do  the  work  executed  by  the 
steam-engine  in  raising  a  weight  of  one  ton  6.3  feet,  or  6.3  tons 
one  foot.  A  gram  of  fat  is  shown  to  yield  more  than  twice  the 
Calories  or  foot- tons  yielded  by  a  gram,  of  protein  or  carbohydrates. 

Stated  in  another  way,  an  ounce  of  protein  in  the  form  of  lean 
meat,  or  one  of  carbohydrates  in  the  form  of  starch  or  sugar,  if 
transformed  into  heat,  will  raise  the  temperature  of  113  pounds 
of  water  1°  Fahr.,  while  an  ounce  of  fat  yields  heat  sufficient  to 
warm  225  pounds  of  water  one  degree. l 

1  This  description  is  adapted  from  the  report  on  the  fuel  value  of  feed- 
ing stuffs  by  W.  O.  Atwater,  Third  Annual  Report,  Storrs  School  Agrl. 
Expt.  Station,  1890.  The  interested  reader  will  find  the  subject  most 
entertainingly  discussed  by  the  same  writer  in  the  Century  Magazine 
for  July,  1887. 


Digestion  j  Respiration  and  Color  imetry.  39 

The  Calories  of  food  substances  show  how  much  heat  these  will 
impart  when  utilized  for  that  purpose  by  the  animal,  or  the  the- 
oretical amount  of  work  they  can  accomplish. 

Reduced  to  available  form,  the  Calories  in  feeding  stuffs  may 
be  stated  as  follows: 

In  one  gram.  In  one  pound. 

Digestible  protein 4.1  Calories.  1860  Calories. 

Digestible  carbohydrates 4.1  Calories.  1860  Calories. 

Digestible  fat 9.3  Calories.  4220  Calories. 

Knowing  the  digestible  constituents  of  any  feeding  stuff,  the 
student  can  readily  determine  its  potential  energy  by  using  the 
above  factors. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ANIMAL  NUTRITION. 

I.  Formation  of  Body  Tissues. 

62.  Formation  of  tissues. — Since  the  protein  of  the  food  is  the 
sole  source  of  nitrogenous  substances  in  the  body,  it  follows  that 
the  formation  of  flesh  is  primarily  dependent  upon  the  supply  of 
protein  in  the  food. 

In  the  body  there  is  a  slow  but  continuous  breaking  down  of 
tissue.  The  materials  which  have  been  dissolved  from  the  food 
in  the  process  of  digestion  are  absorbed  by  the  blood,  and  through 
it  distributed  to  the  different  parts  of  the  body,  where  they  are 
either  oxidized  (consumed),  and  heat  and  energy  produced,  car- 
bonic acid  and  water  being  given  off,  or  are  used  for  the  production 
of  components  of  the  body,  mainly  fat  and  protein  (flesh).  The 
decomposition  of  nutritive  material  in  the  blood,  and  of  muscular 
and  other  body  tissues,  goes  on  continuously  as  long  as  the  animal 
lives,  whether  it  is  awake  or  asleep;  being,  however,  more  active 
in  the  former  condition.  The  term  "  protein  consumption ' J  as 
used  in  this  book  is  applied  to  the  quantity  of  nitrogenous 
materials  decomposed  in  the  animal  body,  whether  originating 
from  muscular  tissue  or  nitrogenous  nutrients  in  solution  in  the 
fluids  of  the  body.  Protein  consumption  is  measured  by  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  found  in  the  urine,  since  practically  all  the 
nitrogen  which  leaves  the  body  passes  off  through  this  excre- 
tion. (57) 

If  the  nitrogenous  waste  results  from  the  destruction  of  mus- 
cular tissue,  as  may  be  the  case  during  starvation,  it  is  spoken 
of  as  "flesh  consumption."  Since  fat-free  muscular  tissue  has 
been  found  to  contain,  on  the  average,  3.4  per  cent,  of  nitrogen, 
the  amount  of  flesh  consumed  in  the  body  may  be  found  by  multi- 


Animal  Nutrition.  41 

plying  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  excreted  in  the  urine  by  29.4 


63.  The  waste  of  the  body. —  The  food  supplies  materials  for 
making  good  the  waste  which  the  animal  sustains  through  the 
living  process.  When  the  supply  is  liberal  and  exceeds  the 
demands  of  the  system,  material  may  be  stored  in  the  body 
by  the  formation  of  flesh  or  fat,  and  the  animal  will  gain  in 
weight.  If  the  supply  is  equal  to  the  material  broken  down,  the 
live  weight  of  the  animal  will  remain  unchanged.  When  the 
supply  is  cut  short  or  entirely  withheld,  the  tissues  of  the  body 
itself  are  attacked  and  the  animal  loses  weight. 

There  is  a  minimum  amount  of  protein  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  maintenance  of  life.  This  has  been  determined  by  experi- 
ments in  which  dogs,  cats,  rabbits  and  other  animals  have  been 
starved,  and  the  daily  excretion  of  nitrogen  in  the  urine  deter- 
mined. During  the  first  days  of  starvation  the  excretion  of 
nitrogen,  or,  what  is  the  same,  the  decomposition  of  protein  in 
the  body,  gradually  decreases  until  after  five  or  six  days  it 
remains  practically  constant.  The  last  portion  of  the  protein  in  the 
fluids  of  the  body  has  then  been  drawn  upon  and  the  body  tissues 
are  now  being  destroyed.  After  a  period  of  continued  starvation 
the  supply  from  the  latter  source  will  also  be  exhausted  and  the 
animal  dies,  the  time  being  determined  by  the  condition  of  the 
body  at  the  beginning  of  starvation.  A  rise  in  temperature 
occurs  at  the  beginning  of  starvation,  followed  by  a  general  fall 
until  death  takes  place.  Carnivora  or  flesh-eating  animals  can 
withstand  hunger  longer  than  the  Herbivora.  While  dogs  and  cats 
have  lived  until  their  weights  have  decreased  33  to  40  per  cent., 
horses  and  ruminants  will  die  when  their  weight  has  been  reduced 
20  to  25  per  cent. l  The  age  of  the  animal  also  influences  the  time 
that  death  occurs  from  starvation,  old  animals  withstanding  the 
effects  of  hunger  better  than  young  animals.  The  latter  lose 
weight  more  rapidly  and  die  after  a  smaller  loss  of  weight  than 
the  former.2 


1  M.  Wilckens  in  v.  d.  Goltz,  Handb.  d.  ges.  Landwirtschaft,  III,  p.  88. 

2  Halliburton,  Chem.  Physiology,  p.  834. 


42  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

II.  Exclusive  Protein  Feeding. 

64.  Protein  consumption. —  In  feeding  Carnivora  it  has  been 
found  that  an  exclusive  protein  diet  causes  an  increased  decom- 
position of  protein  in  the  body,  and  that  the  excess  does  not 
therefore  go  to  form  flesh.  The  following  table  shows  results 
obtained  by  Voit  with  a  dog  fed  varying  quantities  of  meat  which 
had  been  freed  from  all  fat:1 

Feeding  increasing  amounts  of  fat-free  meat  to  dog — Voit. 


Grm 

Grm 

Grm 

Grm 

Grms. 

Grms. 

Grms. 

Grms. 

Grms. 

Fat-free  meat  eaten 
per  dav 

o 

800 

500 

900 

1  200 

1  500 

2  000 

2  500 

2  660 

Urea  excreted 

v> 

a* 

40 

68 

88 

106 

144 

173 

'l81 

Corresp  o  n  d  i  11  g  to 
flesh 

165 

442 

552 

938 

1  214 

1  463 

1  987 

2  387 

2  498 

The  protein  consumption  with  this  dog  varied  from  165  grams 
(.36  ponnds)  per  day  during  hunger  to  nearly  2,500  grams  (5.5 
pounds)  when  the  largest  amount  of  protein  was  fed;  that  is, 
while  fed  increasing  quantities  of  lean  meat  the  dog  did  not  store 
up  any  of  this,  but  turned  it  off  into  the  urine  as  urea.  Similar 
experiments  with  Herbivora  have,  in  the  main,  given  the  same 
results  as  found  with  Carnivora. 

From  the  results  given  in  the  last  table  it  is  evident  that  the 
supply  of  protein  in  the  food  will  largely  regulate  the  consump- 
tion of  protein  in  the  body,  and  consequently  the  quantity  of 
nitrogen  appearing  in  the  urine.  The  following  is  a  summary  of 
experiments  on  goats  by  Stohmann:2 

1  Armsby,  Manual  of  Cattle  Feeding,  p.  128. 

2  Biologische  Studien,  Heft  1,  p.  121;  Armsby,  loc.  cit.,  p.  146. 


Animal  Nutrition. 


43 


Food  given  and  protein  digested,  consumed  and  stored  in  tJie  body  by 
goats  —  Stohmann. 


Date  of 
experiment. 

Feed  per  day. 

Protein 
digested  per 
day. 

Protein  con- 
sumption1 
per  day. 

Gain  of 
protein 
per  day. 

Hay. 

Linseed 
meal. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

1 

May  23-29 

1,500 

100. 

111.6 

66.6 

1.9 

2 

June    6-12 

1.450 

150. 

12-5.0 

79.4 

9.0 

3 

June  20-26 

1,400 

200. 

132.2 

90.6 

11.1 

4 

July    4-10 

1,350 

250. 

150.9 

90.1 

23.4 

5 

July  25-31 

1,250 

350. 

170.5 

101.6 

18.3 

f) 

Aug.    8-14 

1,100 

500. 

193.8 

117.9 

27.4 

7 

Aug.  22-28 

950 

650. 

221  A 

143.1 

30.6 

8 

Sept.    5-11 

800 

800. 

257.2 

173.7 

27.4 

9 

Sept,  19-25 

1,600 

0. 

92.9 

56.3 

-4.4 

10 

Oct.       3-9 

1,600 

0. 

74.1 

41.9 

6.4 

1  Exclusive  of  the  protein  contained  in  the  milk,  which  varied  but 
slightly. 

We  observe  that  after  the  quantity  of  protein  digested  reached 
150  grams  daily  there  was  no  increase  in  the  protein  stored  up  in 
the  body,  even  though  the  amount  in  the  food  was  still  further 
augmented. 

That  an  exclusive  protein  diet  will  not  produce  body  tissue  is 
well  illustrated  in  the  so-called  " Banting  cure"  for  obesity, 
where  the  patient  is  put  on  a  meat  and  fruit  diet,  especially  the 
former,  with  no  potatoes,  butter,  or  bread. 

Pfltiger1  has  shown  that  a  hard- worked  dog  fed  on  "almost 
fat-free ' '  meat  diet  can  live  on  that  food  alone  for  seven  months, 
and  on  the  basis  of  this  experiment  concludes,  contrary  to  the 
views  of  Voit  and  other  authorities,  that  nitrogenous  compounds 
may  sustain  life  for  an  indefinite  period. 

65.  Influence  of  previous  feeding. —  Beside  the  supply  of  pro- 
tein in  the  food,  the  protein  consumption  in  the  body  is  dependent 
upon  another  factor,  viz.,  the  condition  of  the  body  of  the  animal 
as  a  result  of  previous  feeding.  It  clearly  appears  from  experi- 
ments made  in  this  line2  that  when  a  change  in  diet  occurs  the 
consumption  of  protein  will  increase  or  decrease  according  to  the 

1  Archiv  d.  ges.  Physiologic,  52  (1892),  p.  2. 

2  Armsby,  Manual  of  Cattle  Feeding,  1887,  p.  129. 


44 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


changes  made  in  the  supply  of  protein  in  the  food.  Given  a 
supply  of  protein  larger  than  is  necessary  to  maintain  the  body 
tissues,  and  there  will  in  a  few  days  be  an  equilibrium  between 
the  supply  and  consumption  of  protein  in  the  body,  the  time 
varying  with  different  animals  and  with  the  body  condition  of 
each  animal.  The  equilibrium  will  be  reached  sooner  with  a  fat 
animal  than  with  a  lean  one,  and  sooner  when  the  animal  receives 
food  rich  in  protein  and  poor  in  fat  than  when  the  opposite  occurs. 

III.  Influence  of  Other  Nutrients  on  Protein  Consumption. 

66.  Influence  of  fat. —  When  fed  alone,  fat  does  not  decrease 
protein  consumption  in  the  body,  as  is  shown  in  the  following 
results  by  Yoit  with  a  starving  dog:1 

Feeding  fat  only,  to  a  starving  dog — Voit. 


Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

Fat  per  day.                

o 

100 

200 

300 

300 

340 

350 

Protein  consumption  

170 

185 

155 

187 

165 

205 

291 

The  influence  of  fat  on  protein  consumption  rather  than 
decreasing  it  seems  to  have  increased  it  slightly.  See  also  table 
in  Article  82. 

67.  Influence  of  carbohydrates. — When  fed  alone,  carbohydrates 
have  no  influence  on  the  consumption  of  protein  and  thus  act  in 
the  same  way  as  fat.     The  same  amount  of  protein  is  decomposed 
in  the  body  when  nothing  but  carbohydrates  are  fed  as  when  no 
food  whatever  is  given. 

68.  Influence  of  mixed  diet. — When  the  animal  is  fed  on  a 
mixed  diet  containing  fat,  carbohydrates  and  protein,  the  con- 
sumption of  protein  depends  on  the  supply  of  protein  in  the  food, 
as  in  exclusive  protein   feeding.     The  following  experiment2 
serves  as  an  example: 

1  Zeitschr.  f.  Biologic,  V,  p.  329.    Armsby,  loc.  cit.,  p.  136. 

2  Armsby,  loc.  cit.,  p.  137. 


Animal  Nutrition.  45 

Influence  of  mixed  diet  on  protein  consumption — Voit. 


Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

-r.     ^    fFat... 

250 

300 

250 

200 

200 

250 

Food   \Meat 

150 

176 

250 

500 

800 

1,500 

Consumption  of  protein  per  day.. 

233 

259 

270 

502 

778 

1,381 

It  will  be  noticed  that  with  the  same  quantities  of  fat  in  the 
food,  the  protein  consumption  is  larger  where  the  amount  of  meat 
fed  is  larger;  for  instance,  in  the  first,  third  and  sixth  experi- 
ments,  250  grams  of  fat  were  fed  along  with  150,  250  ajxilSOO 
grams,  respectively,  of  meat.  The  consumption  of  protein  in 
the  body  of  the  animal  was,  in  the  order  given,  233,  270  and  1,381 
grams.  The  increase  in  protein  consumption  does  not,  however, 
keep  pace  with  the  increased  supply  of  protein  in  the  food,  and 
the  fat  evidently  has  protected  to  some  extent  the  protein  in  the 
animal  body  from  consumption.  It  has  been  found  in  the  same 
way  that  carbohydrates  also  decrease  the  protein  consumption  in 
the  body  when  fed  in  connection  with  protein.  Thus  they  save 
the  protein  of  the  body  from  decomposition,  and  as  a  result  more 
of  the  protein  of  the  food  can  be  used  for  the  formation  of  flesh 
in  the  body.  The  following  experiment  by  Yoit  may  be  cited  to 
illustrate  this  important  fact:1 

Results  of  feeding  meat  and  fat — Voit. 


Food. 

Protein 

Difference  between 

Date. 

Urea 
per  day. 

consumption 
in  body. 

supply  and  con- 
sumption of  protein. 

Meat. 

Fat. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

July  31  

1,000 

0 

81.7 

1,140 

—140 

Aug.  1  

1,000 

100 

74.5 

1,042 

—42 

Aug.  2  

1,000 

300 

69.3 

970 

+30 

Aug.  3  

1,000 

0 

81.2 

1,134 

—134 

We  see  from  the  above  that  when  on  an  exclusive  meat  diet 
the  animal  lost  140  grams  of  protein  per  day,  while  when  300 
grams  of  fat  were  added  to  the  same  quantity  of  meat  as  before  it 
gained  30  grams.  We  thus  learn  that  the  addition  of  fat  (as 

1  Armsby,  loc.  cit.,  p.  138. 


46 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


also  carbohydrates)  to  a  protein  diet  makes  the  consumption  of 
protein  smaller  than  it  would  be  without  this  addition.  The  fat 
as  well  as  the  carbohydrates  preserve  the  protein  from  decomposi- 
tion, thereby  favoring  the  formation  of  new  body  tissue. 

The  following  experiments  with  a  dog  by  Voit  also  illustrate 
this,  which  is  also  proved  by  many  others:1 

Influence  of  carbohydrates  fed  in  connection  with  protein,  on  protein 
consumption  — Voit. 


Date  of  experiments. 

Food. 

Protein 

Meat. 

Carbohydrates. 

consumption. 

June  23-July  2  1859         

Grams. 
500 

Grams. 
100-300 

Grains. 
502 

July    2-5  1859  

500 

0 

564 

July   4-10,  1864  

800 

0 

826 

July  10-19  1864 

800 

100-400 

763 

July  19-20  1864 

800 

o 

895 

July  23-26,  1864  ^  

1,000 

0 

1,028 

July  26-28,  1864  

1,000 

100-400 

902 

July  28-Aug  1   1864 

1  000 

o 

1  112 

June  29-July  8  1863         ...     . 

1,500 

o 

1  599 

July    8-13  1863  

1,500 

200 

1,454 

Jan.  6,  1859  

2,000 

0 

1,991 

jan   7  11   1859 

2  000 

200-300 

1  792 

69.  Teachings  of  the  above  in  feeding  practice. —  From  what  we 
have  learned  we  should  expect  the  best  results  when  the  ration 
fed  contains  a  sufficient  supply  of  protein  with  a  large  proportion 
of  carbohydrates  to  protein,*,  e.,  a  wide  nutritive  ratio  (132), 
and  this  we  find  borne  out  by  the  results  of  numerous  experi- 
ments with  all  kinds  of  animals.  We  quote  the  following  experi- 
ments on  sheep  by  Schulze  and  Marcker,  arranged  by  Armsby 
according  to  the  nutritive  ratios  in  the  different  rations.  The 
protein  in  the  wool,  amounting  to  about  five  grams,  is  not 
included  in  the  figures  for  protein  consumption. 2 

1  Zeitschrift  f.  Biologic,  V,  p.  434;  Armsby,  loc.  cit.,  p.  150. 

2  Journ.  f.  Landw.  XVIII,  pp.  1  et  seq;  Armsby,  loc.  cit,  p.  153. 


Animal  Nutrition. 


47 


Influence  of  wide  and  narrow  ratios  on  flesh  production  —  Schulze 

and  MaercJcer. 


No.  of  experi- 
ment. 

Protein 
digested 

Grams. 

Nutritive 
ratio. 

Protein 
consump- 
tion. 

Grams. 

Gain  of 
protein. 

Grams. 

Gain  of  protein 
in  per  cent,  of 
am't  digested. 

Experiment   6. 

30.6 

1    17.4 

24.3 

1.4 

4.6 

Experiment  12 
Experiment    3 
Experiment  11 
Experiment    2 
Experiment  10 
Experiment    8 

67.9 
59.5 
68.1 
59.7 
72.5 
85.8 

9.4 

8.9 
8.6 
8.6 
8.1 

7.7 

54.8 
45.9 
56.2 
49.1 
54.7 
63.6 

8.0 
9.0 
6.8 
5.5 
12.7 
17.3 

11.8 
15.1 
10.0 
9.2 
17.5 
20.1 

Average  

68.9 

54.1 

9.9 

14.0 

Experiment     7 
Experiment    9 
Experiment  17 

116.8 
156.6 
248.3 

1  :4.9 
1  :3.7 
1  :2.2 

96.0 
142.5 
237.6 

15.9 
9.0 
6.1 

13.7 

5.8 
2.5 

Average  

173.9 



158.7 

10.3 

7.3 

The  above  experiments  were  not  all  conducted  with  the  same 
animals,  and  therefore  cannot  be  safely  compared  with  one 
another.  We  notice,  however,  that  supplying  a  small  amount  of 
protein  with  a  large  amount  of  carbohydrates,  as  in  Experiment 
6,  gives  a  poor  gain  of  protein  and  also  a  low  percentage  gain  of 
protein  digested  in  the  food;  a  medium  quantity  of  protein  with 
a  liberal  supply  of  carbohydrates  as  given  in  the  first  group  of 
experiments  causes  a  greater  consumption  of  protein  in  the  body, 
and  a  larger  percentage  of  digested  protein.  When  we  come  to 
the  last  group  of  experiments,  where  the  digestible  carbohydrates 
constitute  from  4.9  to  2.2  times  the  quantity  of  protein  present, 
we  again  obtain  poor  results,  there  being  a  large  waste  of  protein 
in  the  body,  and  a  small  gain,  both  relatively  and  absolutely,  for 
the  total  protein  supplied.  Comparing  Experiments  3  and  9,  if  we 
may  safely  do  so,  we  observe  that  the  same  gain  of  protein  to  the 
body  of  the  animal  was  obtained  in  one  case  from  a  little  more  than 
one-third  of  the  quantity  of  digestible  protein  that  was  fed  in  the 
other  case.  At  the  same  time  the  consumption  of  protein  was 
more  than  three  times  as  large  in  the  latter  case  as  in  the  former. 


48  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

70.  Relative  effects  of  fat  and  carbohydrates. —  Experiments  by 
a  large  number  of  investigators  on  the  influence  of  fat  or  carbohy- 
drates on  protein  consumption  show  that  the  two  classes  of  nutrients 
are  of  practically  equal  value,  pound  for  pound,  for  this  purpose, 
so  that  so  far  as  saving  protein  in  the  body  is  concerned  they  may 
replace  one  another.     This  is  an  important  fact,  and  shows  that 
the  relative  fuel  value  of  these  two  grand  divisions  of  food  sub- 
stances is  not  a  measure  of  their  comparative  nutritive  effect. 
(60) 

The  importance  of  the  high  value  of  carbohydrates  in  the 
formation  of  flesh  is  evident.  Feeds  containing  much  fat  are 
comparatively  costly,  are  difficult  of  digestion  by  Herbivora,  and 
an  undue  amount  of  them  may  prove  injurious.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  carbohydrates  are  contained  in  large  proportions  in  all 
the  common  fodders,  are  low-priced  and  are  readily  consumed 
and  digested  by  Herbivora.  The  carbohydrates  in  the  food  of 
Herbivora  effect  what  fat  does  with  the  Carnivora;  they  decrease 
protein  consumption  and  enable  the  animal  to  subsist  on  a  much 
smaller  quantity  of  nitrogenous  material  than  would  otherwise  be 
necessary. 

71.  Influence  of  amides  on  protein  consumption. —  It  is  now  fairly 
well  established  that  a  large  majority  of  the  amides  found  in  plants, 
are  nutrients  proper,  that  is,  when  fed  they  enter  the  system  and 
are  oxidized  in  the  same  way  as  other  food  nutrients.     The 
experiments  of  Hermann  in  feeding  a  dog  with  gelatine  and 
tyrosin,  a  common  amide,  show  that  the  two  feeds  can  sustain 
life  and  even  cause  a  production  of  flesh. l 

Asparagin,  an  amide  present  in  most  young  plants,  has  repeat- 
edly been  shown2  to  cause  a  gain  of  protein  in  the  body  when  fed 
with  a  fodder  poor  in  protein. 

Experiments  by  Zuntz,8  Potthast,4  and  Weiske  and  Schulze5 
are  in  accordance  with  the  above,  and  prove  that  asparagin  is  a 
nutrient,  and  that  it  saves  muscular  tissues  from  decomposition. 


1  Vierteljahresschr.  der  Naturf.  Ges.  in  Zurich  XXI,  p.  36. 

2  Armsby,  loc.  cit.  p.  163. 

3  Jahresb.  d.  Thier  Chemie  12,  p.  422. 
*  Jahresb.  d.  Thier  Chemie  13,  p.  344. 
6  Zeitschr.  f.  Biologie  20,  p.  277. 


Animal  Nutrition.  49 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  in  some  of  their  functions  at  least,  amides 
may  replace  albuminoids.  It  has  been  found  also  by  indirect 
experiments  that  equally  good  results  have  been  obtained,  where 
amides  have  been  substituted  for  part  of  the  albuminoids  in  the 
ration  for  growing  animals  and  milch  cows,  as  were  obtained 
when  albuminoids  only  were  fed.  In  corroboration  of  the  above 
we  have  the  similar  feeding  value  of  corn  silage  and  a  correspond- 
ing quantity  of  dry  fodder  corn.  (655)  Silage  often  contains 
nearly  half  its  nitrogen  in  amide  form,  while  dry  fodder  corn 
has  not  more  than  from  12  to  15  per  cent,  of  its  nitrogen  in  the 
form  of  amides. 

72.  Influence  of  salt  on  protein  consumption. —  Experiments  by 
Voit  with  dogs,  and  by  Weiske  with  sheep,  have  shown  that  a 
moderate  addition  of  salt  to  the  fodder  increases  the  activity  of 
the  secretion  of  the  body  juices  and  their  circulation,  and  con- 
sequently increases  the  protein  consumption  in  the  body.     Salt 
has  a  stimulating  influence  on  the  appetite  of  the  animal,  facili- 
tates the  passage  of  albuminoids  from  the  digestive  canal  into  the 
blood,  and  in  general  increases  the  energy  of  the  vital  processes. 
The  feeding  of  salt  is  therefore  especially  in  place  with  horses, 
young  animals  and  milch  cows  when  fed  to  their  full  capacity. 

Another  effect  of  salt  is  to  increase  the  excretion  of  urine.  If 
after  supplying  salt  the  animal  is  prevented  from  drinking  water, 
then  water  which  would  otherwise  pass  off  through  the  lungs  and 
skin  will  be  diverted  to  the  kidneys,  and  if  the  supply  from  this 
source  is  not  sufficient,  water  will  further  be  drawn  from  the  body 
tissues.  The  live  weight  of  the  animal  can  therefore  shrink 
rapidly  when  salt  is  administered  freely  and  little  water  is  given  j 
afterwards,  when  water  is  offered,  much  will  be  drank,  and  this, 
returned  to  the  digestive  tract  and  tissues,  will  cause  the  animal 
to  increase  rapidly  in  weight. 

73.  Influence  of  water  on  protein  consumption. —  Abnormally 
large  quantities  of  water  cause  a  waste  of  nutrients  in  the  bodies 
of  animals  through  increased  protein   consumption.     Voit   has 
shown  an  increase  in  protein  consumption  of  25  per  cent,  from 
this  source  in  case  of  a  fasting  dog,  and  Henneberg  found  an 

4 


60  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

increase  of  5. 8  per  cent,  in  the  case  of  oxen. l  We  are  taught  from 
these  investigations  that  everything  which  gives  rise  to  excessive 
drinking  of  water  by  growing,  and  especially  fattening,  animals, 
should  be  avoided ;  as,  too  high  stall  temperature,  too  much  salt, 
too  great  exposure,  or  supplying  foods  carrying  too  much  water. 
The  normal  ratio  of  dry  matter  in  food  to  water  (that  in  food 
included)  is  about  1  :  4  for  cattle,  and  1  :  2  for  sheep. 

II.    The  Fat  of  the  Body. 

74.  Body  fat  from  fat  in  the  food. —  According  to  the  teachings 
of  Yoit,  Wolff,  and  other  authorities,  the  fat  stored  in  the  animal 
body  may  originate  from  three  sources,  viz. :  directly  from  the  fat 
of  the  food,  from  the  carbohydrates,  and  from  the  decomposition 
of  protein. 

The  fat  of  the  food  which  has  been  acted  upon  by  the  digestive 
fluids  in  the  intestines  may  be  directly  stored  in  the  body  of 
animals  when  supplied  in  large  quantities,  as  has  been  con- 
clusively shown  in  the  case  of  Carnivora.  .  Experiments  in  this 
line  have  been  conducted  mostly  with  dogs,  at  the  Physiological 
Institute  at  Munich.  Dogs  have  been  starved  for  a  long  time 
until  the  supply  of  fat  in  the  body  had  entirely  disappeared,  as 
shown  by  the  increased  decomposition  of  protein  after  that  time. 
When  this  stage  was  reached  they  were  fed  for  several  days 
large  quantities  of  fat  and  only  a  little  meat.  When  dogs  so  fed 
were  slaughtered,  it  was  found  that  fat  had  been  deposited  in  the 
lungs  and  in  the  body  tissues  in  quantities  larger  than  could  be 
accounted  for  by  the  decomposition  of  the  meat  fed. 

Lebedeff  and  Munk2  fed  a  dog  mutton  suet,  and  later  rape  oil, 
for  a  long  time  and  in  large  quantities,  and  found  that  the  fat 
deposited  in  the  body  was  more  like  mutton  suet  or  rape  oil  in  its 
chemical  properties  than  normal  dog  fat.  In  other  experiments 
this  could  not  be  proved  for  the  reason  that  the  fatty  matters  sup- 
plied were  decomposed  more  easily  in  the  body  of  the  animal 
than  the  fat  originating  from  other  sources. 

75.  Feeding  fatty  acids. —  Munk3  showed  that  neutral  fat  may 
be  formed  in  the  animal  body  resulting  from  the  feeding  of  free 

1  Armsby,  Manual  of  Cattle  Feeding,  p.  135. 

2  Munk,  Physiologic  d.  Menschen,  1888,  p.  273. 

3  Biedermaim's  Centralblatt,  XIII  (1884),  p.  106. 


Animal  Nutrition.  51 

fatty  acids.  He  fed  a  starved  dog  lean  meat  and  a  large  quantity 
of  fatty  acids  prepared  from  mutton  suet.  The  animal,  which 
had  shrunk  32  per  cent,  in  weight  during  nineteen  days,  was  fed 
3,200  grams  of  flesh  and  2,850  grams  of  fatty  acids  in  fourteen 
days,  and  increased  17  per  cent,  in  weight  during  this  period. 
When  killed,  a  well-developed  layer  of  fat  was  found  under  the 
skin,  and  also  large  deposits  of  fat  on  the  internal  organs.  By 
use  of  the  knife,  1,100  grams  of  fat  were  separated,  which 
resembled  mutton  suet,  and  according  to  chemical  analysis  must 
have  contained  at  least  96  per  cent,  of  neutral  mutton  suet.  It  is 
known  that  fatty  acids  are  formed  from  the  fat  of  the  food  in  the 
digestive  processes  through  the  action  of  the  pancreatic  juice, 
and  the  above  experiment  therefore  practically  proves  that  the 
fat  stored  in  the  body  of  animals  may  be  derived  from  the  fat  of 
the  food.  Munk's  findings  have  recently  been  corroborated  by 
"Walker,  also  in  experiments  with  dogs. J 

While  experiments  like  those  quoted  above  cannot  be  made 
with  Herbivora,  there  is  sufficient  evidence  to  establish  the  fact 
that  the  fat  of  the  food  may,  under  favorable  conditions,  directly 
contribute  to  the  body  fat  and  milk  fat  of  animals.  As  will  be 
seen  later  on,  however,  the  fat  in  the  animal  body  is  not  derived 
from  one  component  of  the  food  only,  but  generally  from  both  the 
fat  and  carbohydrates,  or  possibly  these  two  in  conjunction  with 
the  protein  of  the  food,  according  to  the  conditions  of  feeding  and 
the  relative  amounts  of  the  different  components  fed. 

76.  Fat  from  carbohydrates. —  Liebig  maintained  as  early  as 
1842  that  the  fat  of  the  Herbivora  must  be  derived  in  a  great 
measure  from  the  carbohydrates  of  the  food,  but  considered  that 
it  might  also  be  produced  from  its  nitrogenous  components.  The 
correctness  of  this  view  was  questioned  by  leading  scientists  of 
that  time,  although  evidence  in  its  favor  was  accumulating.  In 
1852  Lawes  and  Gilbert  published  the  results  of  their  pig-feeding 
experiments,  showing  that  a  large  portion  of  the  fat  stored  in 
the  body  of  a  fattening  pig  must  come  from  other  sources  than 
the  fatty  matter  of  the  food.  These  investigators  calculated  the 

1  Centralbl.  f.  Physiologic,  IV,  p.  590;  Jahresbr.  d.  Thier  Chemie,  21, 
p.  32. 


52 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


total  dry  and  organic  matter,  mineral  matter,  non-nitrogenous 
constituents,  protein  and  fat  stored  in  a  fat  pig  in  one  of  their 
experiments,  for  each  100  pounds  of  these  constituents  consumed 
as  food,  with  the  results  shown  below. 

Substances  stored,    voided,    etc.,   by  a  fattening  pig  for  each   10O 
pounds  eaten  —  Eothamsted  Experiment  Station. l 


Consumed 
as  food. 

Stored  up  in 
the  animal. 

Expired,  per- 
spired, or  voided 

Total  dry  substance  

Lbs. 
100 

Lbs. 
15.04 

Lbs. 
84.96 

Mineral  matter.  

100 

2.19 

97.81 

Organic  matter 

100 

15  59 

84  41 

Non-nitrogenous      constitu- 
ents                  

100 

17.74 

82.26 

Nitrogenous  constituents  
Fatty  matter  

100 
100 

8.35 
407.00 

91.65 

In  other  experiments  these  investigators  found  from  four  ta 
five  times  as  much  fat  stored  in  the  bodies  of  fattening  pigs  as 
had  been  supplied  in  the  food.  In  spite  of  the  evidence  accumu- 
lated through  this  and  other  experiments,  the  view  that  fat  may 
be  formed  from  carbohydrates  was  opposed  by  many  scientists 
until  late  years,  but  the  question  may  now  be  considered  settled. 
Of  the  large  number  of  experiments  bearing  on  this  most  important 
subject,  only  a  few  can  be  here  noted.  We  select  late  contribu- 
tions, in  which  all  the  precautions  known  to  modern  experimenters 
in  animal  physiology  have  been  observed. 

Kern2  found  that  on  an  average  at  least  9,730  grams  of  fat  had 
been  stored  in  the  bodies  of  two  full-grown  fattening  sheep  during 
70  days'  feeding,  and  that  only  6,872  grams  could  be  accounted 
for  as  the  maximum  amount  formed  from  the  digestible  fat  and 
protein  in  the  food  combined.  It  thus  appears  that  2,858  grams, 
or  29.4  per  cent,  of  the  total  quantity  of  fat  stored  in  the  body, 
must  have  been  derived  from  carbohydrates. 

Soxhlet3  fed  three  full-grown  pigs  of  the  same  age  for  about 

1  On  the  Composition  of  Foods  in  Relation  to  Respiration,  and  the 
Feeding  of  Animals,  Report  British  Asso.  f.  Adv.  of  Science,  1852,  p.  29; 
Bui.  22,  Office  of  Expt.  Sta.,  pp.  235-82. 

2  Journ.  f.  Landw.  26,  p.  549. 

3  Jahresb.  Agr.  Chemie,  1881,  p.  434. 


Animal  Nutrition. 


53 


eleven  months  on  the  same  preparatory  ration  of  2.2  to  3.3  pounds 
of  barley  meal  per  day,  and  during  the  five  days  preceding  the 
experiment  proper,  4.4  pounds  of  rice  meal.  At  this  time  the 
pigs  weighed  219,  220  and  213  pounds.  One  of  the  pigs  was  then 
killed  and  its  body  analyzed,  while  the  others  were  put  on  a  ration 
of  4.4  pounds  of  boiled  rice,  and  later  on  3.3  pounds  of  rice,  with 
some  meat  extract,  both  of  which  foods  are  almost  free  from 
fat.  One  of  these  animals  was  killed  after  75  days,  and  the  other 
after  82  days  of  such  feeding,  and  their  bodies  analyzed  as  in  the 
case  of  the  first  animal.  On  the  assumption  that  the  composi- 
tion of  the  bodies  of  all  the  pigs  was  the  same  when  the  first  pig 
was  killed,  the  investigator  found  the  quantity  of  fat  formed  in 
the  bodies  of  the  two  animals  and  its  source  to  be  as  shown  below: 

Feeding  trial  with  pigs  to  show  formation  of  fat  from 
carbohydrates  —  Soxhlet. 


Pig  II. 

Pig  III. 

Fat  formed  in  body  during  experiment  

Kilograms. 
10.082 

Kilograms. 
22  180 

Taken  up  in  the  food           

.300 

340 

Formed  from,  components  not  fat  in  the  food. 

9.782 
1.589 

21.840 
1.810 

Protein  production 

3  462 

7  169 

Fat  formed  through  decomposition  of  protein.* 
Fat  formed  from  carbohydrates  

1.779 
8.003 

3.685 
18  155 

*  Protein  consumed  X  51.4.  (78) 

Four  to  six  times  as  much  fat  was  consequently  formed  in  the 
bodies  of  these  animals  as  could  have  been  derived  from  the  fat 
and  protein  of  the  food.  Even  if  there  was  some  difference 
in  the  condition  of  these  animals  at  the  end  of  the  prelimin- 
ary feeding,  it  could  not  be  large  enough  to  overthrow  the 
conclusion  that  the  carbohydrates  were  the  source  of  the  greater 
portion  of  the  fat  produced  during  the  experiment. 

Meissl  and  Strohmer, l  also  experimenting  on  swine,  fed  two 
kilograms  of  rice  daily  to  a  one-year  old  pig  weighing  309 
pounds.  During  a  part  of  the  time  the  pig  was  confined  in  a 
Pettenkofer  respiration  apparatus  and  the  respiration  products 
determined.  Of  the  data  obtained  the  following  are  reproduced: 

1  Jahresb.  d.  Thier  Chemie,  13,  p.  39. 


54  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Carbon,  Nitrogen, 

grams.  grams. 

Digested  from  the  food 765.37  18.67 

Outgo  in  respiratory  and  excreted  products...  476.15  12.59 


Remaining  in  the  body  of  the  animal 289. 22  6. 08 

The  surplus  of  nitrogen  corresponds  to  the  formation  of  38 
grams  of  protein,  (58)  containing  201  grams  of  carbon;  there  is 
then  left  for  the  formation  of  fat  from  the  carbon  surplus  269.12 
grams.  This  would  be  contained  in  269.12x1.3,  (58)  or  349.9 
grams  of  fat.  The  total  quantity  of  fat  in  the  food  amounted  to 
7.9  grams,  so  that  if  this  was  digested  and  deposited  in  the  body, 
342  grams  of  fat  must  have  been  formed  from  other  sources.  The 
nitrogen  excreted  as  urea  showed  a  decomposition  of  65.4  grams 
of  protein  in  the  body  of  the  animal.  This  quantity  of  protein 
could  at  best  form  no  more  than  65.4  x  .514,  (78)  or  33.6  grams 
of  fat,  leaving  308.4  grams  of  fat  deposited  in  the  body  to  be 
derived  from  carbohydrates.  Seven  to  eight  times  as  much  fat, 
therefore,  originated  from  this  source  as  could  have  been  formed 
from  the  protein  and  the  fat  in  the  food. 

The  formation  of  fat  from  carbohydrates  in  the  nutrition  of 
ruminants,  especially  cattle,  is  conclusively  proved  by  the  results 
of  experiments  conducted  by  G-.  Kiihn  during  1882-90. x 

77.  formation  of  fat  in  milk. —  Collier2  has  shown  in  the  case  of 
a  herd  of  pure-bred  cows  that  the  fat  in  the  food  was  sufficient  to 
account  for  the  fat  produced  in  the  milk  during  all  but  the  first  two 
months  of  their  lactation  period.  The  average  ratio  of  fat  in  food 
to  fat  in  milk  for  the  whole  period  of  lactation  for  all  cows 
was  121  :  100.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  fat 
in  the  food  consumed  by  the  cows  was  not  wholly  digested,  and 
was,  moreover,  the  " crude  fat"  or  ether  extract  of  chemical 
analysis.  This  extract  contains  chlorophyll  and  other  impurities 
dissolved  from  the  fodders  by  the  ether  in  the  process  of  analysis. 
Allowing  17.4  per  cent,  for  impurities,  Collier  says  there  is  still 
enough  fat  in  the  food  to  account  for  the  fat  recovered  in  the  milk. 

The  experiments  with  milch  cows  have  not  given  as  decisive 

iLandw.  Vers..  44.  pp.  1-4581. 

2N.  Y.  Expt.  Station  (Geneva),  1891,  p.  120. 


Animal  Nutrition.  55 

results  as  those  made  with,  sheep,  pigs,  geese  and  ducks,  some  of 
which  have  been  reported  in  the  preceding  pages;1  but  as  the 
formation  of  fat  from  carbohydrates  has  been  established  in  the  case 
of  other  animals,  it  follows  that  cows  also  have  the  same  ability, 
since  the  nutritive  processes  are  essentially  the  same  in  all  the 
higher  animals. 

The  formation  of  fat  from  carbohydrates  was  long  considered 
impossible  because  no  intermediate  steps  in  the  transformation 
were  known.  Lately,  however,  it  has  been  found  that  butyric, 
capronic  and  higher  solid  fatty  acids  are  formed  from  carbohy- 
drates in  putrefactive  processes.  We  have  seen  that  the  fatty 
acids  are  readily  taken  up  by  the  animal  system  and  changed  into 
fats,  which  may  be  deposited  in  the  body  or  oxidized,  according 
to  the  supply  of  nutrients  and  the  nutritive  condition  of  the 
animal.  (75)  This  being  true,  there  is  no  theoretical  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  the  formation  of  the  fat  of  milk  from  carbohydrates. 

78.  Fat  from  protein. —  It  has  long  been  known  that  fatty  acids 
may  be  formed  from  protein  substances  in  putrefactive  processes, 
both  in  the  animal  body  and  elsewhere,  and  also  through  oxidizing 
agents.  In  certain  diseases,  especially  cases  of  phosphorus  poison- 
ing, fatty  degeneration  will  occur  in  the  body;  the  muscles  waste 
and  a  waxy  fat  appears  in  their  stead,  and  is  also  deposited  on  the 
internal  organs.  In  one  case  the  dry  matter  in  the  liver  of  a  man 
who  died  from  phosphorus  poisoning  contained  the  enormous 
amount  of  76.8  per  cent,  of  fat.2  In  an  experiment  by  Bauer,3 
a  dog  was  poisoned  with  phosphorus  after  having  been  starved 
twelve  days.  It  died  seven  days  later.  The  excretion  of  urea 
was  quite  constant  from  the  fifth  to  the  twelfth  day  of  the  experi- 
ment, amounting  to  7.8  grams  daily.  After  the  poisoning  had 
begun,  the  excretion  increased  until  it  amounted  to  23.9  grams 
per  day,  i.  e.,  three  times  the  normal  amount.  It  was  ascertained 
with  another  dog  treated  the  same  way,  but  kept  in  a  respiration 
apparatus,  that  the  excretion  of  carbonic  acid  and  the  amount  of 
oxygen  taken  up  decreased  one-half  after  the  phosphorus  feeding 

1  For  a  review  of  the  extensive  literature  on  the  subject  up  to  August, 
1881,  S3e  B.  Sclmlze,  Landw.  Jahrb.,  II,  p.  57. 

2  Wolff,  Landw.  Fiitterungslehre,  1888,  p.  44. 

3  Zeitschr.  f.  Biologic,  VII,  p.  76;  Voit,  Phpdologie,  p.  248. 


56  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

began.  In  this  case  there  was  a  greater  decomposition  of  protein 
into  urea  and  fat,  with  a  smaller  absorption  of  oxygen,  and  con- 
sequently a  decreased  oxidation  of  the  fat,  both  processes  com- 
bining to  produce  fat  in  the  body.  The  muscles  of  the  poisoned 
dog  contained  42.4  per  cent,  of  fat,  and  the  liver  30  per  cent.,  or 
three  times  more  than  was  present  in  the  normal  nutrition  of  the 
dog,  and  at  least  ten  times  more  than  would  have  been  found  after 
twenty  days  of  starvation,  if  phosphorus  had  not  been  administered. 
According  to  Henneberg, l  100  pounds  of  protein  will  form 
33.45  pounds  of  urea  on  decomposition;  the  remainder,  66.55 
pounds,  after  uniting  with  12.3  parts  of  water,  may  form  51.4 
pounds  of  fat  and  27.4  pounds  of  carbonic  acid.  The  maximum 
quantity  of  fat  which  protein  can  form  under  the  most  favorable 
conditions  is,  therefore,  51.4  per  cent. 

III.  Formation  of  Fat  in  the  Body. 

79.  Concerning  fat. —  Having  ascertained  the  sources  of  fat  in 
the  animal  body,  we  next  consider  the  principles  governing  its 
formation  and  consumption.     The  formation  of  fat  in  the  body 
will  take  place  when  the  supply  of  nutrients  in  the  food  exceeds 
the  immediate  demands  of  the  system.     To  study  the  effect  of 
single  nutrients  on  fat  formation  and  consumption,  we  follow  the 
plan  employed  in  the  study  of  protein  consumption,  and  investi- 
gate the  conditions  which  are  most  favorable  to  the  formation  of 
fat  in  the  animal  body  and  least  favorable  to  its  consumption. 

80.  Feeding  with  fat  alone. —  While  exclusive  protein  feeding 
induces  only  protein  consumption  in  the  body,  and  does  not  con- 
tribute to  the  formation  of  flesh,  an  exclusive  fat  diet  has  no 
influence  on  the  decomposition  of  fat  in  the  body,  the  same  amount 
being  deposited  whether  much  or  little  fat  is  fed.     A  dog  experi- 
mented with  by  Pettenkofer  and  Voit  lost  96  grams  of  fat  daily  dur- 
ing hunger.     When  100  grams  of  fat  were  fed  daily,  an  average  of 
1)7  grams  of  fat  was  oxidized,  showing  that  the  loss  of  fat  in  the 
body  was  barely  covered  by  the  feeding  of  fat. 2     A  relatively 
larger  decomposition  of  fat  takes  place  in  the  bodies  of  very  fat 

1  Landw.  Versuchs-Stationen,  XX,  p.  394. 

2  Voit,  Physiologic,  p.  128. 


Animal  Nutrition. 


57 


animals  than  in  lean  ones.  This  partially  explains  why  the 
fattening  of  animals  grows  more  difficult  during  the  last  stages  of 
the  fattening  period.  (565) 

81.  Feeding  protein  alone. —  Large  quantities  of  protein  protect 
the  body  fat  from  oxidation,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following 
experiment  by  Pettenkofer  and  Yoit1  with  a  dog  fed  exclusively 
on  fat-free  meat,  and  kept  in  a  respiration  apparatus: 

Feeding  fat-free  meat  to  dog  in  respiration  apparatus  — Pettenkofer 

and  Voit. 


Meat  fed. 

Protein  con- 
sumption. 

Gain  (+)  or  loss 
(—)  of  flesh. 

Gain  (+)orloss 
(—  )  of  body  fat. 

Grams. 
0   

Grams. 

165 
599 
1,079 
1,499 
1,500 
1,757 
2,044 
2,512 

Grains. 

—165 
—  99 
—  79 

+  J 

+  43 
—  44 
—  12 

Grams. 

—95 
—47 
—19 
-f29 
4-4 

+  1 

+58 
+57 

,500  

1  000 

1,500 

1,500  

1,800  

2,000  

2,500 

The  increased  feeding  of  fat-free  meat  caused  an  increased  con- 
sumption of  protein,  but  the  decomposition  of  fat  was  checked  by 
feeding  1,500  grams  (about  3.3  pounds)  of  fat -free  meat  per  day, 
and  where  larger  quantities  of  fat- free  meat  were  fed  the  animal 
was  able  to  lay  on  fat.  The  consumption  of  protein  was  at  the 
same  time  greatly  decreased. 

82.  Feeding  both  protein  and  fat. —  The  following  experiments 
by  Pettenkofer  and  Yoit2  show  the  influence  of  different  quanti- 
ties of  fat  and  meat  on  the  decomposition  of  protein  and  fat  in 
the  body  of  a  dog.  Comparing  the  data  given  in  the  table,  we 
notice  the  influence  of  the  feed  in  the  different  combinations. 
Where  the  same  quantity  of  protein  was  fed  in  the  form  of  meat, 
with  varying  quantities  of  fat,  the  gain  in  body  fat  was  larger 
when  the  largest  quantities  of  fat  were  fed,  and  the  gain  was,  as 
a  rule,  proportional  to  the  quantity  fed.  With  a  liberal  supply 

'Voit,  ibid.,  p.  116. 

2  Zeitschr.  f.  Biologie,  IX,  p.  30;  Voit,  Physiologic,  p.  134. 


58 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


of  protein,  as  in  Experiments  5  and  9,  about  as  much  protein  was 
left  in  the  body  as  was  supplied  in  the  fat  of  the  food.  From 
this  it  appears  that  the  body  fat  formed  from  the  protein  in  the 
food  is  less  stable  than  that  derived  from  the  fat  of  the  food,  and 
that  fat  derived  from  protein  will  be  decomposed  more  easily  in 
the  body  than  the  fat  of  the  food. 

Results  of  feeding  meat  and  fat  to  a  dog  —  PettenJcofer  and  Voit. 


Expt. 
No. 

Food. 

Changes  in  the  body. 

Meat. 

Fat. 

Protein. 

Fat. 

Consump- 
tion. 

Gain. 

Consumption  . 

Gain. 

1  

Grams. 

400 
500 
500 
800 
1,500 
1,500 
1,500 
1,500 
1,500 

Grams. 

200 
100 
200 
350 
30 
60 
100 
100 
150 

Grams. 

450 
491 
517 
635 
1,457 
1,501 
1,402 
1,451 
1,455 

Grams. 
—  50 

+    9 
—  17 

4-165 

±1 

+  98 
+  49 

+  45 

Grams. 

159 
66 
109 
136 
0 
21 
9 
0 
14 

Grams. 

41 
34 
91 
214 
32 
39 
91 
109 
136 

2 

3  

4 

6 

6 

7.. 

8  

9  

83.  Feeding  with  protein  and  carbohydrates. —  For  information 
regarding  this  subject,  as  in  the  preceding  ones,  we  have  recourse 
to  the  experiments  of  Pettenkofer  and  Yoit.  * 

Feeding  protein  and  carbohydrates  to  a  dog  — Pettenkofer  and  Voit. 


Food. 

Amount  of 
protein  de- 
composed 
calculated 
from  urea 
excreted. 

Protein 
gained  or 
lost  by  the 
body. 

Amount 
of  carbo- 
hydrates 
decom- 
posed. 

Fat. 

Flesh 

Starch 

Sugar 

Fat 

From 
fat  of 
food. 

Lost 
from 
the 
body. 

Derived 
from 
food 
other 
than  fat 

0 
0 
400 
400 
400 
500 
500 
800 
1500 
1800 
2500 

379 
608 
211 

17 

22 
10 

'"e" 

6 

"ii" 

4 

10 

211 
193 
436 
393 
413 
568 
537 
608 
1475 
1469 
2512 

211 

379 
608 
211 
227 
344 
167 
182 
379 
172 
379 
0 

+17 
+22 
-10 
. 

+  5 

24 

22 

-193 
-  36 

tj 

-  68 
-  37 
+192 
+  25 
+331 
+  12 

-  8 
-25 

227 

""39"' 
20 
16 
55 
43 
112 
57 

344 
167 

182 

379 
172 
379 

+14 
+  4 
+10 

1  Loc.  cit,  p.  145. 


Animal  Nutrition.  59 

Even  when  the  food  given  consisted  of  non-nitrogenous  mate- 
rials only,  there  was  a  laying-on  of  fat;  when  only  protein  was 
fed,  the  excretion  of  urea  was  increased  proportionately,  and  there 
was  a  small  production  of  fat,  which  may  have  been  derived  from 
the  small  amount  of  fat  always  present  in  lean  meat. 

Yoit  found  from  a  number  of  experiments  that  carbohydrates 
cause  a  decrease  of  fat  consumption  in  the  body,  and  that  they 
are  oxidized  in  preference  to  the  body  fat.  If  enough  carbohy- 
drates are  fed  with  the  protein,  all  the  fat  that  may  have  origi- 
nated from  the  protein  may  be  deposited  as  body  fat.  If  the 
quantity  of  carbohydrates  fed  is  increased  beyond  this  point, 
there  will  be  no  further  laying-on  of  fat,  the  excess  of  carbohy- 
drates being  burned.  In  this  particular  the  carbohydrates  act 
differently  from  fat  fed  in  conjunction  with  protein,  since  the 
more  fat  the  animal  can  be  induced  to  eat  the  larger  will  be  the 
quantity  of  fat  deposited. 

Voit'  s  position,  that  even  the  largest  quantities  of  carbohydrates 
fed  in  connection  with  protein  are  decomposed  in  the  animal 
body,  is  held  untenable  by  Pfliiger, l  who  maintains  that  if  an 
amount  of  fat  or  starch  above  the  needs  of  the  system  be  fed  to 
an  animal  whose  nitrogen  income  and  outgo  has  been  brought  to 
a  state  of  equilibrium,  the  nutritive  balance  will  not  be  influenced 
thereby;  i.  e.,  the  excretion  of  urea  and  oxidation  of  carbon  will 
go  on  without  increase,  the  excess  of  fat  or  starch  passing  off 
undigested. 

84.  Relative  value  of  fat  and  carbohydrates. —  In  experiments 
with  fat  and  carbohydrates  for  fat  production  in  the  animal  body, 
Pettenkofer  and  Voit2  found  that  100  parts  of  fat  were  equivalent 
to  172-179  parts,  average  175  parts,  of  carbohydrates  (starch) 
for  this  purpose.  When  considering  the  formation  of  flesh  in  the 
animal  body,  it  was  shown  that  carbohydrates  and  fat  were 
practically  of  equal  value,  pound  for  pound,  as  aids  in  flesh  for- 
mation. (70)  Neither  of  these  offices  can  be  filled  by  fats  to  the 
extent  indicated  by  their  fuel  value  as  determined  by  caloriinetric 
investigations,  (60)  or  as  would  be  inferred  from  the  quantity  of 

1  Pfluger's  Archiv,  51  (1892),  p.  317. 

2  Voit,  Physiologie,  p.  150. 


60  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

oxygen  required  for  their  complete  combustion  into  carbonic  acid 
and  water. 

85.  Effect  of  water  on    fat    consumption. —  Excessive  water 
drinking  and  the  feeding  of  very  wet  foods  have  a  deleterious 
effect  on  the  formation  of  fat.     Any  conditions  which  cause  an 
excessive  consumption  of  water  must  of  course  be  avoided  with 
fattening  animals.     Abnormally  large  quantities  of  water  tax  the 
system  unnecessarily  and  retard  the  formation  of  flesh  and  fat. 
A  high  stable  temperature  is  to  be  avoided,  as  it  increases  the 
amount  of  water  drank  and  induces  greater  perspiration.     Ani- 
mals worry  and  lose  their  appetites  under  such  conditions.     Too 
low  a  temperature,  on  the  other  hand,  is  objectionable,  since 
increased  oxidation   is   then  necessary  to  maintain  the  body 
heat. 

86.  Size  of  the  body. —  A  small  animal  has  a  relatively  larger 
body  surface,  and  therefore  loses  more  heat  through  radiation, 
than  a  large-sized  animal.    According  to  Henneberg, l  more  than 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  heat  produced  by  the  animal  goes  to  supply 
the  loss  sustained  by  radiation  and  to  evaporation  of  water  in 
perspiration.    Of  the  heat  lost,  26.7  per  cent,  is  through  perspira- 
tion and  65. 1  per  cent,  is  by  radiation.     For  the  same  classes  of 
animals  the  radiation  of  heat  stands  in  the  ratio  of  relative  body 
surface.     The  body  surface  of  animals  of  different  classes,  how- 
ever, does  not  alone  determine  the  quantity  of  nutrients  needed 
for  the  preservation  of  the  animal.     According  to  maintenance 
experiments,  an  ox  will  need  about  .6  grams  of  protein  and  7.4 
grams  of  non-nitrogenous  substances  for  every  kilogram  of  body 
weight,  while  a  full-grown  sheep  will  need  1.2  grams  of  protein 
.and  10.5  grams  of  non- nitrogenous  substances  per  kilogram  of 
body  weight. 2 

87.  Muscular  exertion. —  Muscular  exertion  of  any  kind  in- 
creases the  oxidation  processes  going  on  in  the  body  of  animals; 
vigorous  exercise  must  therefore  be  avoided  in  the  case  of  fat- 
tening stock  and  milch  cows.     While  this  applies  to  external 
movements,  it  also  holds  good  so  far  as  the  internal  organs  are 


1  Neue  Beitrage,  1871,  p.  227;  Armsby,  Manual,  p.  231. 

2  Wolff,  Fiitterungslehre,  1888,  p.  54. 


Animal  Nutrition.  61 

concerned,  especially  the  work  of  digesting  feed.  A  bulky 
fodder  requires  more  energy  on  the  part  of  the  animal  to  move 
it  through  the  digestive  canal,  and  larger  quantities  of  digestive 
fluids  to  extract  its  nutritive  elements  than  does  a  concentrated 
fodder ;  hence  the  importance  of  supplying  hard- worked  horses, 
milch  cows  and  fattening  animals  a  concentrated,  easily -digested 
ration. 

88.  Concerning  the  fattening  process. —  The  process  of  fatten- 
ing depends  on  the  amount  of  nutrients  taken  up  by  the  system 
over  and  above  its  requirements.     It  is  therefore  evident  that 
anything  which  will  decrease  the  oxidation  processes  going  on  in 
the  body,  that  is,  decrease  the  waste  caused  by  the  wear  and  tear 
of  muscles  and  internal  organs,  will  prove  conducive  to  fat  pro- 
duction.    The  quantity  of  oxygen  taken  up  by  the  blood  is 
dependent  on  the  nutritive   condition  of  the  bodyj   the  more 
material  supplied  and  the  more  energetic  the  processes  of  decom- 
position, the  more  oxygen  is  needed.     There  is,  however,  a  limit 
to  the  amount  of  oxygen  that  can  be  absorbed  by  the  blood,  this 
limit  being  determined  by  the  amount  of  blood  in  the  body  and 
its  content  of  haemoglobin,  the  characteristic  coloring  matter  of 
the  red  blood  corpuscles.     A  small  amount  of  blood  and  a  small 
haemoglobin  content  of  the  same  are  therefore  favorable  to  fatten- 
ing.    "We  see  in  this  a  possible  explanation  of  the  custom  reported 
to  be  practiced  in  some  parts  of  Europe  of  bleeding  fattening 
animals. 

Eeference  has  been  made  to  the  possible  formation  of  fat  by  a 
degenerative  process  from  the  muscles  of  the  body  through  phos- 
phorus poisoning;  (78)  the  phosphorus  in  this  case  acts  as  a 
poison  by  depriving  the  blood  of  its  oxygen,  and  the  result  is  the 
formation  of  fatty  matter  from  the  muscular  tissues. 

89.  Influence  of  light  on  fattening. —  The  influence  of  light  on 
fattening  has  been  studied  by  Graffenberger, J  the  experiments 
being  made  with  both  young  and  full-grown  rabbits.     One  set  of 
animals  was  kept  in  the  light,  and  another  in  a  dark  room.    The 
investigator  found  that  the  content  of  haemoglobin  in  the  blood 
of  the  rabbits  kept  in  the  dark  was  decreased,  and  the  amount  of 

1  Pfliiger's  Archiv,  53  (1893),  p.  238. 


62  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

blood  in  the  bodies  of  these  animals  decreased  somewhat  on  long 
confinement  in  a  dark  room.  The  average  quantity  of  blood  in 
the  animals  kept  in  the  light  was  22.2  grams,  and  of  those  kept 
in  a  darkened  room,  17.2  grams.  In  another  experiment,  the 
bodies  of  rabbits  kept  in  light  and  dark  rooms  contained  100.3 
grams  and  90. 6  grams  of  blood,  respectively.  According  to  these 
experiments,  darkening  the  stable  will  have  a  stimulating  influ- 
ence on  the  formation  of  fat  in  the  bodies  of  animals.  Graffen- 
berger  also  ascertained  that  the  production  of  fat  in  animals  kept 
in  the  light  and  those  kept  in  the  dark  was  as  100  :  126  for  the 
first  16  days.  After  46  days  the  ratio  was  as  100  :  119.  With 
full-grown  animals  the  increase  was  as  100  :  216  after  24  days, 
and  as  100  :  138  after  75  days. 

The  deprivation  of  daylight,  therefore,  caused  an  increase  in 
the  formation  of  fat  and  an  increase  in  live  weight.  The  increase 
was  larger  in  the  case  of  full-grown  animals  than  with  younger 
ones;  and  further,  by  prolonging  the  absence  of  light  the  increase 
was  relatively  smaller  than  for  the  shorter  time.  As  the  develop- 
ment of  the  skeleton  and  liver  of  the  animal  is  retarded  by  dark- 
ness, the  prolonged  absence  of  light  has  a  deleterious  effect  upon 
the  health  of  the  animal.  "While  Graffenberger  corroborates  the 
results  of  Moleschott, l  Platen, 2  and  other  early  investigators,  that 
light  causes  an  increased  excretion  of  carbonic  acid  and  a  greater 
consumption  of  oxygen,  he  finds  that  protein  consumption  is  not 
influenced  by  the  absence  or  presence  of  daylight. 

1  Wien  Med.  Wochenschr.,  1855. 

2  Pfliiger's  Archiv,  11,  p.  272. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  SOURCE  OF  MUSCULAR  ENERGY;   COMPOSITION"  OF  ANIMALS 
BEFORE  AND   AFTER  FATTENING. 

I.   The  Source  of  Muscular  Energy  and  the  Production  of  Force. 

90.  Food  the  basis  of  life. —  The  ultimate  object  of  most  of 
the  food  supplied  to  the  animal  is  the  production  of  work.  All 
the  manifestations  of  life,  shown  in  a  thousand  ways  by  the  animal, 
are  in  some  manner  derived  from  the  food.  The  horse  is  kept  for 
the  direct  production  of  labor.  The  cow,  in  furnishing  milk, 
supplies  a  substance  used  for  building  up  the  tissues  of  the  body 
or  for  the  production  of  work.  Doubtless  the  manner  in  which 
the  food  is  converted  into  energy  will  always  exceed  man's  power 
to  definitely  determine,  but  many  facts  in  this  connection  already 
known  are  interesting  and  highly  instructive. 

We  have  learned  that  the  substances  which  enter  the  body  as 
food  can  be  grouped  under  three  great  divisions:  protein,  carbo- 
hydrates, and  ether  extract.  (7-9)  We  have  further  learned 
that  when  the  protein  of  the  food  has  entered  the  body  proper 
and  been  broken  down,  the  amount  of  this  loss  to  the  body  can 
be  measured  by  nitrogen  found  in  the  urea.  (57)  The  carbo- 
hydrates and  ether  extract,  when  absorbed  from  the  alimentary 
tract  to  nurture  the  body,  may  be  built  up  into  body  fat  or  de- 
composed into  carbonic  acid  and  water,  heat  and  energy  being 
given  off  in  this  process.  The  water  resulting  from  the  decom- 
position cannot  be  used  as  a  measure  of  the  broken-down  carbo- 
hydrates and  fat,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  mingled  with  water 
from  other  sources  when  excreted.  Scientists  are,  nevertheless, 
able  to  determine  the  quantity  of  these  substances  which  has  been 
broken  down,  by  measuring  the  carbonic  acid  exhaled  in  the 
breath  of  the  animal. 


64 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


91.  Liebig's  theory. —  It  was  held  by  Liebig  that  the  exercise 
of  force  is  due  to  the  breaking- down  of  lean- meat  tissue  in  the 
animal  body,  as  is  shown  by  the  following:1 

"The  amount  of  azotized  food  (protein)  necessary  to  restore 
the  equilibrium  between  waste  and  supply  is  directly  propor- 
tional to  the  amount  of  tissues  metamorphosed. 

"The  amount  of  living  matter,  which  in  the  body  loses  the 
condition  of  life,  is,  in  equal  temperatures,  directly  proportional 
to  the  mechanical  effects  produced  in  a  given  time. 

"The  amount  of  tissue  metamorphosed  in  a  given  time  may  be 
measured  by  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  in  the  urine. 

"  The  sum  of  the  mechanical  effects  produced  in  two  individuals 
in  the  same  temperature  is  proportional  to  the  amount  of  nitrogen 
in  their  urine;  whether  the  mechanical  force  has  been  employed 
in  voluntary  or  involuntary  motions,  whether  it  has  been  consumed 
by  limbs  or  by  the  heart  and  other  viscera." 

92.  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  trial. — Lawes  and  Gilbert  held  a  different 
view,  believing  that  protein  did  not  play  the  exclusive  part  in  the 
production  of  energy  claimed  for  it.     Putting  their  doubts  to  test, 
they  conducted  the  following  experiment: 2     Two  pigs  of  similar 
weight  and  appearance  were  selected.     To  one  was  given  all 
it  would  consume  of  lentil  meal,  a  feed  rich  in  protein,  containing 
about  4  per  cent,  of  nitrogen.     The  other  pig  was  fed  all  it  would 
consume  of  barley  meal,  containing  less  than  2  per  cent,  of  nitro- 
gen.    Each  pig  was  confined  in  a  frame,  with  arrangements  for 
collecting  the  faeces  and  urine  separately.     All  the  usual  precau- 
tions for  good  work  were  observed,  with  the  following  results: 

Feeding  pigs   protein-rich  and   protein-poor  rations  —  EothamsUd 

Station. 


Periods. 

Food. 

Nitrogen 
in  food. 

Urea 
voided. 

Urea- 
nitrogen. 

Days. 
3  

No.  1,  lentil  meal    

Grams. 
123. 

Grains. 
134. 

Grams. 
62.6 

3  

No.  2,  barley  meal  

58.9 

61  5 

28.7 

10 

No  1  lentil  meal 

120  6 

141 

65  8 

10 

No.  2  barley  meal 

51  2 

52  1 

24  3 

1  Organic  Chemistry  in  its  Application  to  Physiology  and  Pathology. 

2  Jour.  Boy.  Agl.  Soc.,  1895;  Bui.  22,  Office  of  Expt.  Sta. 


The  Source  of  Muscular  Energy. 


65 


Here  were  two  animals  at  rest,  one  getting  much  nitrogen  in  its 
feed  and  the  other  a  limited  amount.  Yfhile  the  work  performed 
by  the  pigs  was  equal,  or  very  nearly  so,  for  both  were  equally  at 
rest,  the  amount  of  nitrogen  excreted  in  the  urea  varied  greatly, 
being  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  that  element  in  the  feed 
given. 

93.  Nitrogen  excretion  during  hard  labor. —  We  next  present  a 
case  in  which  there  was  severe  physical  exertion,  that  we  may 
learn  whether  the  nitrogen  excreted  bears  a  direct  relation  to 
the  work  performed.  In  1865,  Professors  Tick  and  Wislicenus 
ascended  the  Faulhorn,  an  Alpine  mountain. l  In  this  laborious 
effort  they  were  careful  to  note  their  diet  and  to  preserve  all  the 
urine  excreted  during  the  trip,  which  was  afterwards  analyzed. 
From  before  the  ascent  until  after  returning,  the  food  consumed 
contained  only  starch,  fat  and  sugar.  The  following  is  a  sum- 
mary of  the  results  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  point  under  con- 
sideration: 

Nitrogen  excreted  in  the  urine  by  Fick  and  Wislicenus  while  ascending 

Mt.  Faulhorn. 


Urea. 

Nitrogen, 
in  urea. 

Total 
nitrogen. 

Nitrogen, 
excreted 
per  hour 
(average). 

Pick. 
Night  before  ascent  

Grams. 
12.4820 

Grams. 
5.8249 

Grams. 
6.9153 

Grains. 
0.63 

Diirin0"  ascent 

7.0330 

3  2681 

3  3130 

41 

After  ascent 

5.1718 

2.4151 

2.4293 

40 

Night  after  ascent 

4.8167 

.45 

Wislicenus. 
Night  before  ascent  

11.7614 

5.4887 

6.6841 

.61 

During  ascent 

6.6973 

3.1254 

3.1336 

39 

After  ascent      

5.1020 

2.3809 

2.4165 

.40 

5.3462 

.51 

"The  record  of  the  actual  quantities  is  sufficient  to  show  that 
much  less  nitrogen  was  excreted  by  both  experimenters  during 
and  after  than  before  the  ascent.  But  the  calculated  amounts  of 


1  Loc.  cit. 
5 


66 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


nitrogen  excreted  per  hour  during  each  of  the  periods,  as  given 
in  the  last  column  of  the  table,  bring  the  main  results  more  clearly 
to  view.  It  is  seen  that,  on  the  average,  only  about  two-thirds 
as  much  nitrogen  was  excreted  per  hour  during  and  after  the 
ascent  as  prior  to  it,  when  there  would  be  more  or  less  residue  in 
the  system  from  the  last  albuminous  meal." 

Had  the  nitrogenous  tissues  of  the  body  been  broken  down 
directly  in  proportion  to  the  labor  performed,  there  would  have 
been  a  large  increase  of  nitrogen  in  the  urea  of  these  persons  dur- 
ing and  just  after  their  fatiguing  work,  but  such  is  not  the  case. 

In  1866,  Frankland, 1  studying  the  sources  of  muscular  power, 
made  numerous  calorimetrical  determinations  of  the  energy 
evolved  by  the  combustion  of  muscle,  urea  and  various  foods,  or 
constituents  of  food,  and  concluded  that  the  transformation  of 
muscular  tissue  alone  cannot  account  for  more  than  a  small  frac- 
tion of  the  muscular  power  developed  by  animals. 

94.  The  excretion  of  carbonic  acid. —  Let  us  now  study  the 
quantities  of  carbonic  acid  given  off  by  animals  under  different 
conditions  of  labor  and  rest. 

The  great  increase  in  the  carbonic  acid  exhaled  during  work, 
and  its  decrease  with  the  cessation  of  work,  are  clearly  brought 
out  in  trials  by  Smith, 2  as  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Amount  of  carbonic  acid  exhaled  by  the  horse  under  varying  condi- 
tions —  Smith. 


Carbonic  acid  exhaled  per  hour. 

Pony  (work 
trotting). 

Horse  (work 
galloping). 

Horse  (work 
galloping). 

Best 

Cubic  feet. 

0.7648 
2.3954 
.4631 

Cubic  feet. 

Cubic  feet. 

Work  

20.6265 
1.3133 

12.4353 
1.1693 

1  Phil.  Mag.  1866,  4th  Ser.,  Vol.  XXXII,  p.  182;  loc.  cit. 

2  Jour.  Physiology,  1890,  No.  1;  loc.  cit. 


The  Source  of  Muscular  Energy. 


67 


The  following  table  by  the  same  investigator  shows  the  great 
increase  in  the  carbonic  acid  gas  exhaled  with  increasing  labor: 

Carbonic  acid  exhaled  by  the  horse  at  rest  and  at  work  —  Smith. 


Carbonic  a< 
per  1 

rid  exhaled 
lour. 

Series  A. 

Series  B. 

Rest  

Cubic  feet. 
1.0282 

Cubic  feet. 
1.2346 

"Walking               .            

1  0972 

1  0586 

Trotting               

2.9482 

4.8309 

Canterin0*  

4.9159 

5.0080 

14.9725 

These  tables  show  the  variation  in  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid 
given  off  by  the  lungs  of  animals  during  labor,  and  the  rapid 
increase  as  the  labor  increases.  No  such  findings  are  on  record 
with  regard  to  the  excretion  of  nitrogen  in  the  urea.  The  con- 
clusion is  irresistible  that  the  carbohydrates  and  the  fat  of  the 
food  and  of  the  body,  and  not  protein,  are  the  main  sources  of 
body  energy. 

95.  Body  heat  does  not  measure  the  energy  of  food. —  On  this 
subject  Wolff  writes:1  u  The  great  increase  in  the  combustion 
of  fat  during  work  has  led  to  the  assumption  that  this  constitutes 
the  chief  source  of  muscular  energy,  that  the  work  done  is  the 
result  of  the  heat  produced,  and  that  in  the  animal  body  a  con- 
version of  heat  into  force  takes  place,  just  as  the  steam-engine 
produces  work  through  the  heat  of  the  burning  fuel  by  the  inter- 
vention of  steam,  or  as  the  hot-air  engine  executes  work  by  means 
of  the  heated  air.  The  non-nitrogenous  food  stuffs  are  directly 
concerned  in  this  heat  production,  and  it  has  been  calculated  that 
20  per  cent,  of  the  heat  produced  by  their  combustion  is  con- 
verted into  work,  which  is  a  far  larger  proportion  than  that  yet 
attained  by  the  most  efficient  steam-engines,  which  only  convert 
about  10  per  cent,  of  the  heat  they  receive  into  work.  It  is  open 
to  question,  however,  whether  the  heat  produced  in  the  body  can 
be  directly  converted  into  mechanical  work  as  in  the  case  of  the 

1  Farm  Foods,  English  edition,  pp.  82,  83,  Cousins, 


68 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


air  engine,  or  can  even  be  considered  its  direct  source/  since  the 
necessary  conditions  of  alternate  heating  and  cooling  of  the  whole 
or  a  part  do  not  hold  good  in  the  animal  body,  and  make  a  com- 
parison between  the  two  impossible The  increased 

production  of  heat  during  work  and  the  increased  respiration  are 
but  secondary  effects,  the  result  of  work,  and  can  by  no  means 
be  regarded  as  its  primary  or  direct  cause.  The  increased  heat 
produced  in  work  is  dissipated  in  evaporation  from  the  body  and 
by  greater  heat  radiation,  and  is  eventually  reduced  again  to  the 
normal.'7 

96.  Food  requirements  for  work  vary. — Wolff  further  writes:1 
"The  food  required  to  produce  work  varies  with  the  form  of 
muscular  activity  or  the  work  done.  Katzenstein,  for  instance, 
found  that  work  done  by  men  turning  a  wheel  with  the  arms 
produced  a  greater  expenditure  of  material  in  the  body  than  the 
same  work  done  with  the  legs.  The  volume  of  oxygen  used  per 
kilogram-meter  of  work  done  with  hand-labor  amounted  to  1.96 
cubic  centimeters,  but  when  the  work  was  done  with  the  legs, 
only  from  1.19  to  1.51  cubic  centimeters." 

Further,  the  degree  of  practice  in  a  particular  kind  of  work 
influences  the  expenditure  of  material  in  the  body,  as  Gruber 
found  by  experiments  on  himself.  The  carbonic  acid  produced 
every  twenty  minutes  amounted  to  the  following: 


Best. 

Walking. 

Climbing. 

Out  of 
practice. 

In 
practice. 

12.83 

22.42 

38.83 
7376 

31.00 
7639 

Zuntz  and  Lehmann  obtained  similar  results  in  their  experi- 
ments on  the  horse.  "It  can  be  deduced  from  the  total  experi- 
mental results  that  no  constant  relationship  can  be  set  up  between 
the  production  of  work  and  consumption  of  food;  the  entire 
organization  of  an  animal,  its  individual  and  variable  peculiarities 
and  condition,  etc.,  create  great  differences  in  the  economical 

1  Farm  Foods,  pp.  84,  85. 


The  Source  of  Muscular  Energy.  69 

employment  of  its  power  in  doing  the  same  piece  of  work;  with, 
the  same  individual  the  quality  and  intensity  of  the  work  produces 
great  differences,  and  further  researches  are  required  to  reduce 
the  variations  in  question  by  regular  use  to  an  individual  and 
perhaps  a  typical  average  value. ' ' 

97.  The   sources  of  muscular  energy. —  Wolff  further  says:1 
"  The  essential  sources  of  muscular  power  are  seen  in  the  decom- 
position processes  in  the  body,  i.  e.,  in  the  destruction  which 
portions  of  the  body  or  the  food  resorbed  from  the  digestive  tract 
undergo  by  the  passage  of  the  plasma  through  the  tissues.     To 
this  end,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  the  case  of  fat-production, 
both  nitrogenous  and  non- nitrogenous  substances  contribute.     As 
these  materials  are  resolved  by  the  influence  of  oxygen  into 
simple  groups  of  atoms,   the  energy  of  chemical  force  which 
previously  linked  the  atoms  together  in  more  complicated  group- 
ings is  set  at  liberty,  and  can  be  employed  as  kinetic  energy  for 
the  external  work  of  the  body.    In  a  condition  of  rest,  this  energy 
serves  for  the  internal  work  of  the  organs  or  is  converted  into 
electric  current,  etc.     The  animal  body  often  stores  up  a  certain 
amount  of  energy  5  as  soon  as  this  store  has  been  rapidly  exhausted 
by  work,  a  period  of  rest  is  necessary  to  enable  fresh  material  to 
flow  through  the  tissue- cells  and  generate  fresh  energy  for  the 
production  of  more  active  work.     The  force-production  and  all 
phenomena  resulting  from  the  combustion  of  organic  matter  in 
the  animal  body  must  obey  the  law  of  the  conservation  of  energy. " 

98.  Conclusion. —  Taking  the  experiments  here  presented  and 
many  others  by  the  investigators  for  guidance,  we  may  conclude 
that  in  the  exercise  of  force  there  is  greatly  increased  expenditure 
of  the  non-nitrogenous  constituents  of  the  food  (carbohydrates 
and  ether  extract),  and  but  little  of  the  nitrogenous.  (440)     At 
the  same  time  the  importance  of  nitrogenous  food  must  not  be 
under-estimated,  for,  as  Wolff  tells  us:     "No  one  expects  much 
work  from  men  or  animals  fed  on  a  diet  poor  in  nitrogen,  such  as 
potatoes  and  rice.     Fatness  of  body  is  never  considered  a  sign  of 
muscular  strength. " 

1  Farm  Foods,  pp.  85,  86. 


70  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

"  A  highly  liberal  diet  is  absolutely  necessary  to  preserve  the 
flesh  and  fat  in  the  body,  and  at  the  same  time  to  keep  it  in  a 
powerful  condition.  An  addition  of  fat,  which  is  the  most  intense 
respiration  material,  is  often  a  desirable  addition  and  nearly  as 
important  as  albumen;  and  it  is  a  suggestive  fact  that  the  working 
classes  have  a  decided  taste  for  fatty  dishes,  and  that  oats  —  a 
food  proportionately  rich  in  fat  —  are  recognized  as  an  excellent 
food  for  horses."1 

In  the  above  we  have  the  strongest  statements  possible  in  favor 
of  the  importance  of  protein  for  the  production  of  work.  When 
we  consider  the  large  proportion  of  carbohydrates  and  ether  ex- 
tract in  the  ration,  and  remember  that  fat  contains  more  than  twice 
the  heat  units  of  protein,  we  must  concede  that  these  food-groups 
furnish  most  of  the  energy  developed  in  the  animal  body.  (43&- 
441) 

II.   Composition  of  Steers,  Sheep  and  Pigs,  and  their  Increase  during 

Fattening. 

99.  Investigations  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert. —  The  only  extended 
investigations  concerning  the  composition  of  the  bodies  of  farm 
animals  and  of  the  increase  during  fattening  are  those  conducted 
by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  of  the  Eothamsted  (England)  Station. 
These  investigations,  which  were  begun  in  1848,  were  first  pub- 
lished in  1859. 2  The  second  part,  relating  to  the  composition  of 
the  ash  of  the  entire  animal  and  certain  separate  parts,  was  pub- 
lished in  1863. 8  This  work  will  stand  for  all  time  a  witness  to 
the  high  standard  of  painstaking  research  established  by  these 
pioneer  English  experimenters  in  agricultural  science.  Only  a 
brief  summary  of  their  work  can  here  be  given,  taken  mainly  from 
their  recent  contribution  on  The  Feeding  of  Animals. 4 

To  determine  the  ultimate  composition  of  steers,  sheep  and  pigs, 
the  entire  bodies  of  ten  animals  of  each  group  were  subjected  to 
analysis.  The  findings  are  condensed  in  the  table  here  given: 

1  Farm  Foods,  p.  91. 

2  Phil.  Trans.,  Part  II,  1859;  Jour.  Roy.  Agl.  Soc.,  1860. 

8  Phil.  Trans.,  Part  III,  1883;  Rothamsted  Memoirs,  Vols.  II,  III,  IV. 
4  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1895.     See  also  Bui.  22,  Office  of  Experiment 
Stations. 


Composition  of  Animal  Body. 


71 


Percentage  composition  of  the  entire  bodies,  the  carcasses  and  the  offal 
of  ten  animals  of  different  descriptions,  or  in  different  conditions 
of  maturity  —  Lawes  and  Gilbert. 


Contents 

Description  of  animal. 

Mineral 
matter 
(ash). 

Nitroge- 
nous sub- 
stance. 

Fat. 

Total  dry 
sub- 
stance. 

Water. 

of  stom- 
ach and 
intestin's 
in  moist 

state. 

Division  I.    Per  cent,  in  the  entire  animal  (fasted  live  weight). 


Fatcalf  

3.80 

15.2 

14.8 

33.8 

63.0 

3  17 

Half-fat  ox  

4.66 

16.6 

19.1 

40.3 

51.5 

8.19 

Fat  ox  

3.92 

14.5 

30.1 

48.5 

45.5 

5.98 

Fat  lamb  

2.94 

12.3 

28  5 

43  7 

47.8 

8.54 

Store  sheep  

3.16 

14.8 

18.7 

36.7 

57.3 

6.00 

Half-fat  oM  sheep  
Fat  sheep 

3.17 

2  81 

14.0 

12  2 

23.5 
35  6 

40.7 
50  6 

50.2 
43  4 

9.05 
6  02 

Extra-fat  sheep  . 

2.90 

10.9 

45  8 

59  6 

35  2 

5.18 

Store  pig  

2.67 

13.7 

23.3 

39.7 

55.1 

5.22 

Fat  pie.... 

1.65 

10.9 

42.2 

54.7 

41.3 

3.97 

Means  of  all  

3.17 

13.5 

28.2 

44.9 

49.0 

6.13 

Division  II.    Per  cent,  in  carcass. 


Fatcalf  

4.48 

16.6 

16.6 

37.7 

62.3 

Half-fat  ox 

5  56 

17.8 

22  6 

46  0 

54  0 

Fat  ox 

4.56 

15.0 

34.8 

54.4 

45.6 

Fat  lamb  

3.63 

10.9 

36.9 

51.4 

48.6 

Store  sheep  

4.36 

14.5 

23.8 

42.7 

57.3 

Half-fat  old  sheep  

4.13 

14.9 

31.3 

50.3 

49.7 

Fat  sheep 

3.45 

11.5 

45.4 

60.3 

39  7 

Extra-fat  sheep  

2.77 

9.1 

55.1 

67.0 

33.0 

Store  pig  

2.57 

14.0 

28.1 

44.7 

55.3 

Fat  pig 

1  40 

10  5 

49  5 

61  4 

38  6 

Means  of  all  

3.69 

13.5 

34.4 

51.6 

48.4 

Division  III.    Per  cent,  in  offal  (excluding  contents  of  stomach  and  intestines). 


Fatcalf 

3  41 

17.1 

14  6 

35  1 

64  9 

Half-fat  ox  

4.05 

20.6 

15.7 

40  4 

59  6 

Fat  ox  

3.40 

17.5 

26.3 

47  2 

52  8 

Fat  lamb 

2  45 

18.9 

20  1 

41  5 

58  5 

Store  sheep 

2.19 

18.0 

16  1 

36  3 

63  7 

Half-fat  old  sheep  

2.72 

17.7 

18.5 

38.9 

61.1 

Fat  sheep  

2.32 

16.1 

26.4 

44.8 

55.2 

Extra-fat  sheep  

3.64 

16.8 

34.5 

54.9 

45.1 

Store  pig  

3.07 

14.0 

15  0 

32  1 

67  9 

Fatr>isr.... 

2.97 

14.8 

22.8 

40  6 

59  4 

Means  of  all  

3.02 

17.2 

21.0 

41.2 

58.8 

72  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  first  division  of  the  table  relates  to  the  composition  of  the 
entire  body  (fasted  live  weight)  of  the  animal.  Eeferring  to  the 
second  column,  headed  "mineral  matter/'  we  learn  that  in  every 
100  pounds  of  the  body  of  the  fat  calf  there  are  3.8  pounds  of  ash 
or  mineral  matter;  that  is,  if  the  body  of  the  calf  were  consumed 
by  fire,  there  would  remain  that  amount  of  ash  for  each  100 
pounds  of  body  weight.  With  the  half- fat  ox  the  ash  amounts  to 
4.66  pounds,  while  for  the  fat  ox  it  falls  to  3.92  pounds  for  each 
100  pounds  live  weight. 

In  like  manner  we  learn  that  in  100  pounds  of  live  lean  pig 
(fasted  weight)  there  are  2.67  pounds  of  ash  or  mineral  matter, 
while  in  the  fat  pig  there  are  only  1.65  pounds.  The  pig  has 
less  mineral  matter  in  its  body  than  other  farm  animals. 

100.  Nitrogenous   substance. —  In  the   muscles,  tendons,  liga- 
ments, hide,  hair,  horns,  blood,  nerves  and  organic  matter  of  the 
bones  is  found  the  nitrogenous  substance  of  the  body.     Most  of 
the  nitrogenous  substance  is  in  the  red  meat  or  lean  portion  of  the 
flesh.     For  each  100  pounds  of  body  weight  the  fat  calf  has  15.2 
pounds  of  nitrogenous  substance.  This  is  slightly  increased  for  the 
half-fat  ox,  and  reduced  for  the  fat  ox.     In  the  lean  sheep  and  pig 
there  is  less  nitrogenous  substance  than  in  the  fat  calf,  while  for 
the  extra-fat  sheep  and  fat  pig  the  lean  meat  constitutes  only  10.9 
pounds  in  each  100  pounds  of  body. 

101.  Fat  of  the  body.- — In  the  fat  calf  there  are  14.8  pounds  of 
fat  for  100  pounds  of  body  weight.     This  is  increased  to  19.1  for 
the  half- fat  ox  and  30.1  pounds  for  the  ox  when  fat.     Lean  sheep 
show  18. 7  pounds  of  fat,  while  in  extra  fat  sheep  it  runs  up  to 
45.8  per  100  pounds  weight.     The  lean  pig  shows  23.3  per  cent, 
and  the  fat  pig  42.2  per  cent,  of  fat. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  body  of  the  fat  calf  contains 
almost  as  much  fat,  and  that  of  the  fat  ox  more  than  two  pounds 
of  fat,  for  each  pound  of  nitrogenous  or  lean- meat  substance.  Even 
in  lean  sheep  there  is  more  fat  than  lean  meat,  and  with  the 
extra- fat  sheep  there  is  four  times  as  much  fat  as  dry  lean  meat. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  fat  pig. 

102.  Water  and  dry  substance  in  the  body. —  In  the  next  two 
columns  of  the  table  is  a  statement  of  the  total  dry  substance  and 


Composition  of  Animal  Body.  73 

the  water  in  the  animal's  body.  It  is  shown  that  63  out  of  every 
100  pounds  live  weight  of  the  fat  calf's  body  is  water.  \Yith  the 
half-fat  ox,  this  is  materially  reduced,  and  with  the  fat  ox  it 
amounts  to  45.5  per  cent.  Thus  we  learn  that  considerably  more 
than  half  the  body  weight  of  the  calf,  and  nearly  half  that  of  the 
fatted  ox  is  water.  In  extra-fat  sheep  the  water  content  falls  to 
35.2  pounds,  the  lowest  of  all  farm  animals,  while  for  the  fat  pig 
it  is  41.3  pounds  for  each  100  pounds.  On  the  average,  for  all 
animals  studied,  49  pounds  in  every  100  of  body  weight  is  water. 
The  supreme  importance  of  this  neutral  fluid  to  the  animal  sys- 
tem is  strikingly  brought  out  by  these  figures. 

103.  Composition  of  the  increase  while  fattening. —  Lawes  and 
Gilbert's  researches  furnish  data  showing  that  the  process  of 
fattening  is  really  what  the  term  implies  —  the  lay  ing- on  of 
fat.  During  fattening  the  percentage  of  total  dry  matter  in 
the  body  is  considerably  increased,  and  the  fatty  matter  accu- 
mulated is  much  greater  than  the  nitrogenous  substance.  The 
increase  during  fattening  of  moderately  fattened  oxen  will  con- 
tain scarcely  more  than  1.5  per  cent,  of  mineral  matter,  8  per 
cent,  of  nitrogenous  substance,  and  65  per  cent,  of  fat,  the  total 
dry  substance  put  on  during  fattening  ranging  from  70  to  75  per 
cent.  The  remainder  of  the  increase  is  water.  If  steers  grow 
as  well  as  fatten,  there  may  be  more  mineral  matter  and  nitrog- 
enous substance,  less  fat  and  more  water  in  the  added  growth, 
than  just  reported.  In  such  case  about  two-thirds  of  the  increase 
is  dry  substance  and  one-third  water,  while  if  the  steer  is  mature, 
the  added  weight  while  fattening  consists  of  as  much  as  three- 
fourths  dry  substance  and  one-fourth  water. 

Studies  of  sheep  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  increase  during 
fattening  will  contain  not  less  than  2  per  cent,  of  mineral  matter 
and  frequently  more  —  a  decided  increase  over  the  ox,  due  largely 
to  the  growth  of  wool  during  fattening.  Of  the  added  weight  of 
sheep  during  fattening,  from  70  to  75  per  cent,  may  be  fat. 

While  fattening,  the  pig  adds  scarcely  any  mineral  matter  to  the 
body,  and  rarely  more  than  7.5  per  cent,  of  nitrogenous  substance, 
the  fat  forming  as  much  as  70  per  cent,  of  the  increase.  Of  the 
gain  in  weight  made  by  the  pig  during  fattening,  about  75  per 
cent,  is  dry  matter  and  25  per  cent,  water.  The  increase  of  less 


74 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


highly  fattened  pigs  contains  more  nitrogenous  substance,  more 
water  and  less  fat. 

104.  Comparative  fattening  qualities  of  different  farm  animals. — 

Gathering  their  results  into  a  single  table  for  the  purpose  of  study- 
ing the  comparative  fattening  qualities  of  farm  animals,  Lawes 
and  Gilbert  present  the  following  table,  giving  the  proportion  of 
the  various  organs  and  parts  of  the  body,  the  feed  consumed 
weekly,  gains,  etc. : 

Comparative  fattening  qualities  of  farm  animals  — Lawes  and  Gilbert. 
Belation  of  parts  in  100  pounds  live  weight. 


Oxen. 

Sheep. 

Pigs. 

Average  of  

16 

249 

59 

Stomachs  and  contents   

Lbs. 
11  5 

Lbs. 

7  4 

Lbs. 
1  3 

Intestines  and  contents  

2.8 

3  5 

6  2 

Internal  loose  fat  

14.3 
4.6 

10.9 
7.0 

7,5 

1  6 

Heart,  aorta,  lungs,  windpipe,  liver,  gall-blad- 
der and  con  tents,  pancreas,  spleen  and  blood.. 
Other  offal  parts  

7.0 
13.0 

7.3 
15.  0 

6.6 
1.1 

Total  offal  parts  

38.9 

40  2 

16  8 

Carcass  

59.3 

59.7 

82.6 

Loss  by  evaporation  etc 

1  8 

0  1 

0  6 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

Per  100  pounds  live  weight. 


Dry  substance  consumed  in 
Increase  yielded  per  week  .. 

food 

per 

week  

12. 
1. 

5 
13 

16 
1 

.0 

76 

27 
6 

.0 
43 

Per  100  pounds  dry  substance  of  food. 


Fat  in  increase  

5.2 

7  0 

15  7 

Total  dry  substance  in  increase    

6.2 

8  0 

17  6 

Total  dry  substance  in  excretions  

36  5 

31  9 

16  7 

Average  fat. 

In  lean  condition  

16  0 

18  0 

22  0 

In  fat  condition  

30  0 

33  0 

44  0 

In  increase  while  fattening  

60  0 

65  0 

70  0 

Composition  of  Animal  Body.  75 

The  table  presents  the  summaries  from  the  study  of  16  oxen, 
249  sheep  and  59  pigs.  For  the  ox  we  learn  that  the  stomach 
and  contents  constitute  11.5  per  cent.,  for  the  sheep  7.4  per  cent., 
and  for  the  pig  but  1.3  per  cent,  of  the  live  weight.  The  very 
small  size  of  the  stomach  of  the  pig  is  here  made  evident.  It  is 
shown  that  59.3  per  cent,  of  the  live  weight  of  the  fatted  ox  is 
returned  as  dressed  carcass.  Sheep  dress  about  the  same  as  steers, 
while  the  pig  returns  82.6  per  cent,  dressed  weight,  greatly 
exceeding  the  ox  and  sheep  in  the  proportion  of  valuable  parts. 

In  the  second  division  of  the  table  we  learn  that  for  each  100 
pounds  of  live  weight  the  steer  consumes  12.5  pounds  of  dry 
matter,  the  sheep  somewhat  more,  and  the  pig  27.27  pounds 
of  dry  matter  each  week.  The  fattening  steer  increases  1.13 
per  cent,  of  his  live  weight  weekly,  the  sheep  1.76  per  cent., 
while  the  pig  makes  surprising  gains,  increasing  6.43  per  cent,  of 
his  live  weight  in  a  week. 

In  the  next  division  of  the  table  we  are  told  of  the  fat  and  dry 
substance  in  the  increase,  and  also  of  the  dry  substance  in  the 
excretions.  Here  the  sheep  leads  the  steer,  and  the  pig  more 
than  doubles  the  increase  of  either. 

105.  Feeds  and  fattening. —  The  following  is  adapted  from 
Warington:1  Lawes  and  Gilbert  reckon  that  on  an  average  for 
the*  whole  fattening  period,  an  ox  will  produce  100  pounds  of  live 
weight  from  the  consumption  of  250  pounds  of  oil  cake,  600 
pounds  of  clover  hay  and  3,500  pounds  of  Swedes  (turnips). 
Sheep  will  produce  the  same  increase  by  the  consumption  of  250 
pounds  of  oil  cake,  300  pounds  of  clover  hay  and  4,000  pounds 
of  Swedes.  Pigs  will  require  about  500  pounds  of  barley  meal 
to  yield  a  similar  result.  Taking  these  data,  the  rate  of  food 
consumption  and  the  increase  yielded  will  be  as  follows: 

1  Chemistry  of  the  Farm. 


76 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Results  with  fattening  animals  per  100  pounds  live  weight,  per  week  — 

Warington. 


Received  by  the 
animal. 

Results  produced. 

Total 
dry 
food. 

Digestible 
organic 
matter. 

Food  con- 
sumed for 
heat  and 
work.* 

Dry  ma- 
nuref  pro- 
duced. 

Increase  in 
live  weight. 

Oxen  

Lbs. 

12.5 
16.0 
27.0 

Lbs. 

8.9 
12.3 
22.0 

Lbs. 

6.86 
9.06 
12.58 

Lbs. 

4.56 
5.10 
4.51 

Lbs. 

1.13 
1.76 
6.43 

Sheep  

Pigs... 

Results  obtained  in  relation  to  food  consumed. 


Increase  in  live 
weight. 

On  100  pounds  of  dry  food. 

Per  100 
Ibs.  dry 
food. 

Per  100 
Ibs.  di- 
gested or- 
ganic 
matter. 

Consumed, 
for  heat  and 
work.* 

Dry  manure 
produced.! 

Dry  in- 
crease 
yielded. 

Oxen  

Lbs. 

9.0 
11.0 

23.8 

Lbs. 

12.7 
14.3 

29.2 

Lbs. 

54.9 
56.6 
46.6 

Lbs. 

36.5 
31.9 
16.7 

Lbs. 

6.2 
8.0 
17.6 

Sheep  

Pigs 

*  In  calculating  the  amount  of  food  consumed  for  the  production  of 
heat  and  work,  it  has  been  assumed  that  the  fat  in  the  increase  has  been 
derived  entirely  from  the  fat  and  carbohydrates  supplied  by  the  food. 

t  The  manure  is  exclusive  of  litter. 

Warington  tells  us  in  the  first  table  that  pigs  are  able  to  con- 
sume far  more  food  in  proportion  to  their  live  weight  than 
either  sheep  or  oxen.  This  is  due  to  the  concentrated  and  digesti- 
ble character  of  the  food  commonly  supplied  the  fattening  pig, 
and  to  the  great  capacity  of  this  animal  for  assimilation.  The 
proportion  of  stomach  is  greater  in  the  ox  or  sheep  than  in  the 
pig,  being  for  100  pounds  live  weight,  3.2  for  the  ox,  2.5  for  the 
sheep,  and  .7  for  the  pig.  On  the  other  hand,  the  proportion  of 
the  intestines  is  greater  with  the  pig.  (32)  Ruminants  are  thus 
best  fitted  for  dealing  with  feeds  requiring  prolonged  digestion, 
while  the  pig  excels  in  the  capacity  for  assimilation. 


Composition  of  Animal  Body. 


77 


As  a  natural  result  of  the  larger  consumption  of  food,  the  pig 
increases  in  weight  more  rapidly  than  the  sheep  or  ox.  Not  only 
is  the  rate  of  increase  more  rapid,  but  the  increase  yielded  by  the 
pig  is  also  far  greater  in  proportion  to  the  food  consumed,  as 
plainly  appears  from  the  lower  division  of  the  table.  The  pig, 
with  its  very  large  consumption  of  food,  has,  in  fact,  to  spend  a 
smaller  proportion  of  it  on  heat  and  work,  and  has  a  larger  sur- 
plus to  store  as  increase.  Of  100  pounds  digested  organic 
matter,  the  fattening  ox  spends  about  77  for  heat  and  work,  the 
sheep  74,  and  the  pig  57.  The  upper  division  of  the  table  shows, 
however,  that  in  a  given  time  a  pig  converts  a  much  larger 
amount  of  food  into  heat  and  work  than  either  the  sheep  or  ox. 
This  greater  consumption  probably  represents  the  internal  work 
performed  in  lay  ing- on  increase.  The  pig,  with  its  rapid  feeding 
and  high  rate  of  increase,  is  undoubtedly  the  most  economical  meat- 
making  machine  at  the  farmer's  disposal.  The  returns  of  sheep 
lie  between  those  given  by  oxen  and  pigs,  being,  however,  much 
nearer  the  former  than  the  latter.  The  German  experiments 
place  the  sheep  below  the  ox  as  an  economic  producer  of  increase, 
instead  of  above  it,  as  in  the  Bothamsted  statistics  just  quoted. 
The  difference  is  probably  due  to  the  different  breeds  of  animals 
under  experiment. 

106.  Nitrogen  and  ash  in  carcasses  of  farm  animals. —  The  table 
shows  the  quantity  of  nitrogen,  and  principal  ash  constituents,  in 
the  fasted  live  weight  of  animals  analyzed  at  Eothamsted. 

Ash  constituents  and  nitrogen  in  1,000  pounds  of  various  animals, 
based  on  live  fasted  weight,  including  contents  of  stomach  and 
intestines  —  Lawes  and  Gilbert. 


Nitrogen  . 

Phosphoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Lime. 

Magnesia. 

Fat  calf. 

Lbs. 
24  64 

Lbs. 
15  35 

Lbs. 
2  06 

Lbs. 
16  46 

Lbs. 
0  79 

Half-fat  ox  ...   . 

27  45 

18  39 

2  05 

21  11 

0  85 

Fatox  

23.26 

15.51 

1.76 

17  92 

0  61 

Fat  lamb  

19.71 

11.26 

1.66 

12.81 

0  52 

Store  sheep 

23  77 

11  88 

1  74 

13  21 

0  56 

Fat  sheep  

19  76 

10  40 

1  48 

11  84 

0  48 

Store  pig  

22  08 

10  66 

1  96 

10  79 

0  53 

Fat  me  ., 

17  65 

6  54 

1  38 

6  36 

0  32 

CHAPTER  VI. 

INFLUENCE   OF   FEED   OHf  THE   ANIMAL   BODY. 

I.  Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Growing  Body  of  the  Pig. 

107.  Sanborn's  findings.— In  1884,  Sanborn,  of  the  Missouri 
Agricultural  College,1  observed  more  lean  and  less  fat  in  the 
bodies  of  pigs  fed  ship-stuff  (middlings)  than  in  those  of  pigs  fed 
corn  meal.     He  wrote:    " Does  a  food  rich  in  carbohydrates  and 
fat  tend  to  produce  an  increased  proportion  of  fat  to  flesh?  .    .    . 
I  have  heretofore  observed  that  a  pig  fed  on  ship-stuff  (mid- 
dlings), versus  corn,  gave  an  apparently  better  muscular  develop- 
ment from  ship-stuff.     .     ,     .     Experience  convinces  me  that 
the  exclusive  use  of  corn  meal  for  a  feeding  ration  is  detrimental 
to  a  vigorous  and  healthy  muscular  development,  producing  a 
pig  easily  subject  to  disease,  distasteful  to  our  consumers,  and 
more  costly  than  is  ^necessary. "     In  later  bulletins2  this  investi- 
gator reports  studies  in  which  pigs  were  fed  dried  blood  and  corn 
meal  in  opposition  to  corn  meal  only.     The  weights  of  various 
internal  organs  were  ascertained,  and  the  fat  and  lean  of  the  car- 
casses separated  by  the  knife,  and  weighed.     The  data  thus 
obtained  confirmed  the  original  statement.     Marked  differences 
in  the  relative  size  of  some  of  the  internal  organs  were  also 
reported. 

108.  Studies  at  other  Stations. —  Eecognizing  the  great  impor- 
tance of  this  line  of  study  from  the  scientific  standpoint,  and  its 
significance  to  the  breeder  of  swine,  to  the  farmer  interested  in 
pig  feeding,  and  to  the  consumer  of  pork  products  as  well,  the 
writer  conducted  several  trials  in  the  same  line  as  Sanborn's,  at 
the  Wisconsin  Station. 3     In  these  trials  dried  blood,  (338)  mid- 

1  Bui.  10. 

*  Buls.  14,  19,  Mo.  Agrl.  Col. 

*  Repts.  1886,  '87,  '88,  '89. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body.  79 

dlings,  peas  and  skim  milk,  articles  rich  in  protein,  were  fed  in 
opposition  to  corn  meal,  which  was  used  because  it  is  the  com- 
mon pig  feed  of  the  country  and  is  the  richest  in  carbohydrates 
of  its  class. 

The  same  subject  was  investigated  at  the  Kansas  Station1  by 
Shelton,  who  fed  pigs  a  mixture  of  shorts  and  bran  in  opposition 
to  corn  meal,  potatoes  and  tallow. 

At  the  Alabama  Station, 2  Duggar  fed  cowpeas,  which  are  rich 
in  protein,  in  opposition  to  corn  meal.  (863) 

In  France,  Fortier, 3  likewise  recognizing  the  importance  of 
this  work,  duplicated  in  one  instance  a  trial  by  the  writer,  feed- 
ing dried  blood,  skim  milk  and  middlings  in  opposition  to  corn 
meal  only,  to  ascertain  if  parallel  results  could  be  obtained  in 
his  country.  Thus  we  have  the  results  of  feeding  pigs  rations 
rich  in  protein  and  poor  in  protein  at  five  widely-separated  points. 

The  results  of  these  several  trials  are  condensed  in  the  following 
comprehensive  tables: 


Bui.  9. 
2  Bui.  82. 

xt.  Trav.  Soc.  Cent.  d'Agr.,  Dept.  Seine-Inf.,  1889,  1890. 


80 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


y 

CX3 

££? 

£3 


|| 
&~ 


w 


O   oo  10 


02     C5CO 

,Q        T-H   <^| 


00  1C 


00  iO 


CO  00  O 


oco  oo 


00  CO(M 


O 


<M(M<M 


ood 


ddlin 
rn  me 


•f  M  M 

M 


-a 

11 


888 


rHrHCO 


111 


M 


Shorts,  bran 
Potatoes  ta 


X 


Dried  bl 
Corn  m 


Cowpea 
Corn  m 


-    -» 

133 


Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body. 


81 


t 


SS 


6 


0    3co' 


rHCO 
t-  CO 


VOi—  1  •* 
CO  t^-  1C 
CO  ^t"  CO 


Tfrl 

CO 


OO 


CO  t-CO 

-*»OIO 


coo 


<M  CO  i^ 


C1CO 


to 


IOCO 


Milk,  midd 
Corn  meal 


s 

B 


n 


I,  Shorts,  bran 
I  Potatoes  tallow 


Dried  b 
Corn  m 


-3,3 


82  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

109.  What  the  tables  show. —  The  first  table  shows  that  in  every 
instance  the  protein-rich  ration  produced  heavier  gains  than  the 
others.  In  the  several  columns  are  given  the  weights  of  various 
parts  and  organs  of  the  body.  Since  pigs  fed  on  the  several 
rations  reached  different  weights  at  the  time  of  slaughter,  the 
weights  are  reduced  to  a  common  standard  for  comparison.  This 
is  done  in  the  second  table,  where  the  weights  of  the  different 
parts  are  stated  for  each  100  pounds  of  dressed  carcass. 

It  is  seen  in  the  second  table  that  the  pigs  fed  the  protein-rich 
rations  usually  show  a  larger  shrinkage  than  those  getting  corn 
meal.  This  is  accounted  for  in  part  by  the  larger  amount  of 
blood,  heavier  livers  and  other  organs  of  the  protein-fed  pigs. 

In  nearly  every  instance  the  pigs  receiving  the  protein-rich 
rations  yielded  more  blood  than  those  fed  corn.  In  the  Kansas 
trial  the  pigs  getting  shorts  and  bran  had  51.2  ounces  of  blood  to 
100  pounds  of  carcass,  while  the  corn-fed  pigs  had  only  36.8 
ounces.  In  Fortier's  trials  in  France,  the  blood  of  the  corn-meal- 
fed  pigs  was  less  than  half  that  of  the  pigs  receiving  the  protein- 
rich  ration,  the  ratio  standing  55.1  to  26.1.  The  only  exception 
was  in  the  Wisconsin  trial,  where  the  pigs  were  made  very  fat 
by  feeding  milk. 

In  every  instance  the  pigs  fed  the  protein-rich  rations  had 
heavier  livers  than  the  others,  the  difference  often  being  very 
marked.  For  example,  in  the  Missouri  trial  the  pigs  fed  mid- 
dlings had  livers  weighing  48.4  ounces  to  100  pounds  of  carcass, 
while  those  of  the  lot  fed  corn  weighed  only  31.9. 

Generally,  the  kidneys  of  the  protein-fed  pigs  are  heaviest, 
though  in  Fortier's  trials  the  reverse  occurs. 

The  tenderloin  muscles  lying  along  the  back  of  the  pig  are 
easily  dissected  from  the  remainder  of  the  carcass,  and  in  one 
trial  in  Wisconsin  and  in  the  Kansas  trial  these  muscles  were 
separated  and  weighed.  In  both  cases  the  muscles  of  the  pigs 
getting  the  protein-rich  rations  were  heavier  in  proportion  to  the 
weight  of  the  body  than  those  of  the  pigs  fed  corn.  This  is  proof 
of  more  lean  meat  in  the  carcasses  of  pigs  fed  the  most  protein. 

The  pigs  getting  corn  meal  gave  more  leaf  lard  than  the  others, 
excepting  in  the  French  trial,  where  the  results  were  practically 
equal. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body. 


83 


110.  Strength  of  thigh-bones. —  In  the  Wisconsin  and  Kansas 
trials  the  strength  of  the  thigh-bones  of  the  pigs  in  the  different 
lots  was  determined  in  the  following  manner:     The  two  rounded 
iron-supporting  edges  of  the  testing  machine  were  set  four  inches 
apart,  and  on  these  the  thigh-bones  were  placed,  one  at  a  time, 
always  in  the  same  position.     The  rounded  eklge  of  the  breaking 
bar  rested  on  the  bone  midway  between  the  two  supports.     The 
pressure  downward  upon  the  bone,  which  was  gradually  increased, 
was  measured  on  the  tilting-beam  of  the  machine,  and  the  weight 
which  the  bone  supported  at  the  time  it  broke  was  recorded.     In 
every  instance  the  pigs  fed  the  protein- rich  ration  possessed  the 
strongest  bones,  the  difference  often  being  very  marked.     For 
example,  in  one  Wisconsin  trial  the  bones  of  the  corn- fed  pigs 
broke  at  380  pounds  on  the  average,  and  those  of  the  pigs  fed 
milk,  blood  and  middlings  at  503  pounds.     These  weights  are  for 
each  100  pounds  of  dressed  carcass,  and  show  in  favor  of  the 
mixed  ration  by  32  per  cent. 

111.  What   analysis  revealed. —  In  one  of  the  Wisconsin  trials 
we  went  further  into  details,  making  partial  analyses  of  some  of 
the  body  organs.     In  this  trial  there  were  four  pigs  in  each  lot. 
To  the  first  lot  was  fed  a  ration  consisting  of  one-third  dried 
blood  and  two-thirds  corn  meal,  by  weight.     The  second  lot 
received  one-half  pea  meal  and  one-half  corn  meal,  while  the 
third  was  fed  corn  meal  only.     All  lots  received  hard-wood  ashes, 
salt  and  water  additional.     The  weights  and  gains  of  the  pigs 
are  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Weights  and  gains  of  pigs  variously  fed  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Feed 

• 

Average 
weight  at 
begin- 
ning. 

Average 
gain  dur- 
ing trial. 

Average 
feed  per 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Lot     I,  J 

-  dried  blood, 

§  corn  meal  

Lbs. 
9G 

Lbs. 

202 

Lbs. 
409 

Lot   II,  3 

r  pea  meal,  £ 

corn  meal  

98 

180 

449 

Lot  III,  ' 

corn  meal  o 

nlv  . 

99 

155 

481 

It  is  shown  by  the  table  that  the  lot  fed  dried  blood  and  corn 
meal  made  the  best  gains  with  the  least  food,  that  receiving  pea 


84 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


meal  coming  second,  while  corn  meal  gave  the  poorest  returns 
with  the  most  feed  consumed  for  a  given  gain.  The  dry  matter 
of  the  blood  and  dry  matter  and  fat  in  the  kidneys  were  deter- 
mined with  the  results  presented  in  the  following  table: 

Results  of  partial  analyses  of  blood  and  kidneys  of  pigs  fed  on  dried 
blood,  pea  meal  and  corn  meal — Wisconsin  Station. 


Results  for  4  pigs. 

Fed 
blood 
and 
corn. 

Fed 
peas 
and 
corn. 

Fed 
corn 
only. 

Average  dressed  weight,  pounds 

248 

228 

212 

Blood  per  100  Ibs.  dressed  weight,  grams 

1332 

1263 

1237 

Per  cent,  dry  matter  in  blood  

24  24 

24  58 

24  09 

Dry  matter  in  blood  per  100  Ibs.  dressed  weight,  grams 

323 

310 

298 

Kidneys,  grams  per  100  Ibs.  dressed  weight  

111 

96 

79 

Following  for  2  pigs  each  lot  only: 
Percent,  dry  matter  in  kidneys  

24  41 

25  80 

26  26 

Per  cent,  fat  in  kidneys  

4  71 

4  49 

6  41 

Dry  matter  in  kidneys  to  100  Ibs.  dressed  wt.  ,  grams  
Dry  matter  in  kidneys  less  fat  per  100  Ibs.  dressed 
weight  grams 

23.4 
18  8 

24.4 
20  1 

20.7 
15  6 

The  table  shows  the  dry  matter  in  the  blood  to  be  quite  uniform 
for  the  three  lots,  the  corn-fed  lot  containing  the  lowest  percent- 
age. The  total  dry  matter  of  the  kidneys  is  highest  with  the 
corn-fed  pigs,  the  difference  being  due  to  the  larger  amount 
of  fat  in  the  kidneys.  The  highest  percentage  of  dry  matter  in 
the  kidneys  to  dressed  carcass  is  for  the  pigs  fed  peas  and  corn, 
with  those  fed  blood  and  corn  coming  second. 

112.  Modifications  of  carcass. —  That  the  bodies  of  the  pigs 
were  affected  by  the  feed  given  in  these  trials  is  made  plain  by 
the  colored  engravings  presented  by  Fortier  of  France  and  the 
writer,  *  and  by  the  half-tone  reproductions  from  photographs  by 
Shelton2  and  the  writer. 3  These  views  show  what  Sanborn  origi- 
nally announced,  viz.,  that  there  is  more  lean  meat  in  proportion 
to  fat  in  the  carcasses  of  protein -fed  pigs  than  in  the  carcasses  of 
those  getting  corn  meal. 

i  Kept.  Wis.  Sta.,  1886. 
*  Bui.  9,  Kan.  Sta. 
"Kept.  Wis.  Sta.,  1888. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body. 


85 


Sanborn's  analyses  and  statements  were  further  substantiated 
by  the  writer  in  the  following  manner:  From  one  side  of  the  car- 
cass the  sixth  rib  and  the  flesh  lying  over  it  were  cut  out.  The 
rib  and  the  skin  were  removed  and  the  remaining  flesh  of  the  sec- 
tion analyzed.  As  before  stated,  the  tenderloin  muscle  of  the 
back,  lying  in  the  angle  made  by  the  spinous  processes  and  the 
ribs,  is  quite  free  from  connection  with  adjacent  tissue.  That  por- 
tion of  this  muscle  lying  over  the  seventh  and  eighth  ribs  was 
selected  for  analysis,  with  the  average  results  presented  in  the 
following  table: 

Analyses  of  sections  of  the  carcasses  of  pigs  fed  on  dried  blood,  pea 
meal  and  corn  meal  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Four  pigs  in 
each  lot. 

Sixth-rib  cut. 

Tenderloin  muscle. 

Water. 

Fat. 

Dry  lean 
meat. 

Water. 

Fat. 

Dry  lean 
meat. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Blood-fed  
Peas-fed  
Corn-fed  

27.16 
28.41 
20.16 

64.68 
62.94 
73.56 

8.16 
8.65 
6.28 

67.96 
69.49 
67.45 

8.22 
6.17 
9.41 

23.32 
24.34 
23.14 

For  present  purposes  we  may  assume  that  the  flesh  lying  over 
the  sixth  rib  is  representative  of  the  whole  carcass.  This  being 
true,  the  carcasses  of  the  protein-fed  pigs  contained  eight  parts 
more  water  and  ten  parts  less  fat  to  the  hundred  pounds  than  the 
carcasses  of  the  pigs  fed  corn.  For  dry  lean  meat  the  results  are 
a  little  more  than  six  per  cent,  for  the  corn-fed  pigs  and  above 
eight  per  cent,  for  the  other  lots.  There  was,  then,  about  one- 
third  more  lean  meat  in  the  carcasses  of  the  protein-fed  pigs  than 
in  the  carcasses  of  those  getting  corn.  The  analysis  reveals  more 
fat  and  somewhat  less  lean  meat  percentagely  in  the  tenderloin 
muscles  of  the  corn-fed  pigs. 

113.  Misconception  concerning  the  experiments. —  There  has 
been  misconception  concerning  the  purpose  and  interpretation  of 
these  experiments.1  A  few  writers  have  inferred  that  claims 
were  advanced  by  some  of  the  investigators  that  lean  meat  can 

1  Harris  on  the  Pig,  2d  Ed.;  Agr.  Science,  vol.  2:  Bept.  Kan.  Bd. 
Agr.,  Apr.  1889. 


86  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

be  produced  in  the  body  of  the  pig  at  the  will  of  the  feeder. 
Others  interpret  the  investigations  as  an  attack  upon  Indian  corn 
for  swine  feeding,  while  still  others  declare  the  experiments 
inaccurate,  or  that  the  figures  show  nothing  unusual.  These 
writers  refer  to  the  experiments  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  in  which 
the  carcasses  of  pigs  fed  bran,  beans  and  lentils  showed  no  dif- 
ference in  the  proportion  of  muscle  to  fat  over  those  receiv- 
ing carbonaceous  foods.  They  overlook  the  vital  point  in  the 
problem,  viz.,  that  these  later  experiments  were  with  growing 
pigs,  while  the  early  ones  were  with  animals  well  advanced 
toward  maturity.  In  the  Lawes  and  Gilbert  trials  the  protein 
feeds  used  were  not  altogether  suitable  for  pigs.  How  much  their 
results  were  modified  by  this  fact  it  is  impossible  to  state. 

For  a  discussion  of  the  practical  bearing  of  these  experiments 
see  articles  936-940. 

II.  Strengthening  the  Bones  of  Pigs  Kept  Exclusively  on  Corn. 

114.  Hard-wood  ashes  and  bone  meal  for  pigs  fed  corn. — When 
feeding  corn  to  pigs  as  the  exclusive  ration,  the  writer  observed  a 
strong  craving  by  the  pigs  for  wood  ashes,  considerable  quantities 
of  which  were  consumed,  if  opportunity  offered.  Were  the  ashes 
a  benefit  to  the  pigs  or  not?  To  answer  this  question  three  exper- 
iments were  conducted. 1 

In  each  trial  six  pigs,  all  from  one  litter,  were  used,  the  animals 
being  from  105  to  128  days  old  when  the  feeding  began.  The 
previous  feed  had  been  liberal  in  variety  and  supply,  and  the 
pigs  were  well  started  in  their  development  when  the  trial  began. 
They  were  divided  into  three  lots  of  two  each,  and  all  lots  were 
fed  liberally  on  corn  meal,  with  salt  and  water  additional.  Lot  I 
received  nothing  else.  Lot  II  was  allowed  hard-wood  ashes 
supplied  in  a  separate  trough.  Instead  of  ashes,  Lot  III  was 
given  a  spoonful  of  bone  meal  with  each  feed.  In  regard  to 
the  amount  of  these  articles  consumed,  it  may  be  stated  that  in 
one  of  the  trials,  which  lasted  112  days,  two  pigs  consumed  10.5 
pounds  of  bone  meal  and  7.5  pounds  of  salt,  and  in  the  same  time 
two  other  pigs  consumed  33  pounds  of  hard- wood  ashes  and 

i  Bept.  Wis.  Expt.  Sta.,  1896;  Bui.  25. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body. 


87 


8  pounds  of  salt.  The  pigs  were  confined  in  pens,  with  small 
yards  at  the  rear  for  exercise.  The  ground  in  these  yards  was 
covered  with  boards  to  prevent  the  animals  from  rooting  in  the 
earth  and  eating  quantities  of  it,  as  those  not  getting  ashes  or 
bone  meal  would  have  done  had  opportunity  offered.  The 
trials  lasted  from  84  to  128  days  without  any  of  the  animals 
dying  or  becoming  sick,  a  surprising  fact  for  the  lots  living 
wholly  on  corn  meal,  salt  and  water. 

115.  What  the  trials  revealed. —  As  the  trials  progressed  it 
became  evident  that  none  of  the  pigs  were  properly  nurtured, 
though  the  difference  in  favor  of  those  getting  bone  nieal  or  ashes 
was  very  marked.  The  pigs  allowed  neither  ashes  nor  bone  meal 
were  most  plainly  dwarfed.  It  was  evident  that  the  corn  meal, 
salt  and  water  did  not  supply  all  the  elements  essential  to  build- 
ing a  normal  framework  of  bone  and  muscle.  These  dwarfs 
became  so  fat  that  the  jowls  and  bellies  of  some  of  them  nearly 
touched  the  ground. 

The  pigs  getting  ashes  or  bone  meal  grew  very  well  for 
some  time,  but  toward  the  close  of  the  trial  they  made  only 
fair  gains,  showing  that  the  nutrients  supplied  were  still  too 
limited  in  character  to  allow  normal  development.  On  slaughter, 
the  several  lots  showed  no  difference  in  the  proportion  of  fat 
to  lean,  nor  was  there  any  difference  in  the  size  or  character 
of  the  various  internal  organs.  The  bones,  however,  were  a  most 
interesting  study.  In  the  same  manner  as  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding topic,  the  thigh  bones  of  these  pigs  were  broken  in  a  test- 
ing machine  with  the  results  shown  below: 

Results  with  pigs  living  on  corn  meal  with  or  icithout  bone  meal  and 
hard-wood  ashes  in  addition  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


When  bone 
meal  was 
fed. 

When  ashes 
were  fed. 

When 
neither  was 
fed. 

Corn  meal  required  to  produce  100 
pounds  of  gain  pounds 

487 

491 

629 

Average  breaking  strength  of  thigh 
bones  pounds 

680 

581 

301 

Average  ash  in  thigh  bone,  grams 

166 

150 

107 

88  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

After  being  broken,  the  bones  were  burned  to  determine  the 
ash  they  contained. 

By  the  table  we  learn  that  feeding  bone  meal  or  hard- wood 
ashes  to  pigs  otherwise  confined  to  a  corn- meal  diet  effected  a 
saving  of  23  per  cent,  in  the  corn  required  for  100  pounds  of 
gain.  We  further  find  that  by  feeding  hard- wood  ashes  or  bone 
meal  to  pigs  otherwise  living  wholly  on  corn,  the  strength  of  the 
thigh  bones  was  about  double  that  of  pigs  not  allowed  bone  meal 
or  ashes.  It  was  further  found  that  when  the  bones  were  burned, 
those  of  the  pigs  getting  ashes  or  bone  meal  contained  about  50 
per  cent,  more  ash  than  the  others.  This  latter  fact  was  sub- 
stantiated in  another  interesting  way.  After  burning,  the  bones 
of  the  pigs  which  had  received  no  ashes  or  bone  meal  crumbled 
at  once  on  handling,  while  those  from  the  pigs  fed  ashes  or  bone 
meal  still  retained  their  form  after  burning  and  did  not  crumble 
When  carefully  handled. 

III.  Influence  of  Wide  and  Narrow  Rations  on  Growth  and  Fattening. 

116.  The  Maine  Station  trial. —  At  the  Maine  Station, l  Jordan 
conducted  a  trial  with  growing  and  fattening  steers,  beginning 
with  calves  and  feeding  to  maturity,  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
mining the  influence  of  a  ration  rich  in  protein  and  one  relatively 
poor  in  protein  on  the  rate  of  growth  and  character  of  the  flesh 
produced.     This  is  the  most  elaborate  experiment  of  the  kind 
yet  conducted  in  this  country,  having  been  wisely  planned  and 
carefully  carried  out  in  all  its  numerous  details. 

117.  Plan  of  experiment. —  Four  high-grade  Short-horn    steer 
calves,  ranging  in  age  from  5  to  7  months  when  the  trial  began, 
were  used.  Two  of  these  calves  were  fed  a  ration  rich  in  protein,  as 
given  below,  while  the  other  two  received  one  ample  in  its  supply 
of  nutrients  but  relatively  poor  in  protein.   (133-5)     After  feed- 
ing 17  months,  one  steer  in  each  lot  was  slaughtered  and  the 
carcasses  analyzed;  after  ten  months'  more  feeding,  or  27  months 
in  all,   the  remaining  two  were  slaughtered  and  the  carcasses 
likewise  analyzed.     The  four  steers  were  fed  alike  at  all  times  on 
roughage,  which  consisted  mostly  of  timothy  hay,  some  fodder 

1  Rept.  1895. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body. 


corn  and  corn  silage  being  fed  during  the  first  winter  only, 
concentrates  for  the  two  lots  were  as  follows: 


The 


Lot  I. 

Steers  1  and  2. 
Protein-rich  ration. 


Lot  II. 

Steers  3  and  4. 
Protein-poor  ration. 

Corn  meal,  2  parts. 

Wheat  bran,  1  part,  by  weight. 


Nutritive  ratio,  1  :  9.7. 


Linseed  meal,  2  parts. 
Corn  meal,  1  part. 
Wheat  bran,  1  part,  by  weight. 
Nutritive  ratio,  1 :  5.2. 

In  this  trial  no  attempt  was  made  to  force  the  steers  to  rapid 
growth,  the  aim  being  rather  to  keep  them  gaining  steadily.  The 
trial  was  carried  to  a  successful  termination,  no  serious  interrup- 
tions of  any  kind  occurring.  The  feed  and  gains  are  presented  in 
the  following  table: 

Total  feed  eaten  and  total  gains  by  four  steers  —  Maine  Station. 


Lot  I. 
Fed  protein-rich 
food. 

Lot  II. 
Fed  protein-poor 
food. 

Number  of  months  fed 

Steer  1. 

17 
514 
3,414 
4,173 
2,211 
9,700 
221 
958 
737 

Steer  2. 

27 
843 
7,783 
4,728 
4,818 
17,329 
345 
1,307 
962 

Steer  3. 

27 
833 
6,811 
4,493 
4,737 
16,041 
285 
1,290 
1.005 

Steer  4. 

17 
521 
3,520 
4,469 
2,255 
10,234 
318 
870 
552 

Number  of  days  fed 

Total  hay  eaten  pounds            

Total  fodder  and  silage  eaten,  pounds  .. 
Total  mixed  grains  eaten,  pounds  
Total  food  eaten  pounds 

Initial  weight  of  steers  pounds  . 

End  weight  of  steers,  pounds    

Total  gain  of  each  steer,  pounds  

118.  Digestible  nutrients  consumed. —  The  table  shows  the  total 
feed  consumed;  the  digestible  nutrients  in  this  feed  are  given  in 
the  accompanying  table: 

Digestible  matter  consumed  by  the  steers  —  Maine  Station. 


Pounds 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether  ex- 
tract. 

Total 
feed. 

matter  for 
one  pound 

gam. 

Protein-rich  fed. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Steer  1,  fed!7mos. 

619 

2,869 

160 

3,648 

4.95 

Steer  2,  fed  27  mos. 

1,265 

5,853 

321 

7,439 

7.73 

Protein-poor  fed. 

Steer  3,  fed  27  mos. 

700 

6,128 

295 

7,123 

7.08 

Steer  4,  fed  17  mos. 

370 

3,264 

154 

3,788 

6.86 

90 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


119.  Concerning  gains. —  Our  attention  is  next  directed  to  a  con- 
sideration of  the  gains  made  by  two  steers  up  to  the  end  of  the 
17-months  period.  These  are  given  in  the  following  table: 

Total  and  relative  gains  of  two  lots  of  steers  —  Maine  Station. 


Weight 
pair  fed 
more  pro- 
tein. 

Weight 
pair  fed 
less  pro- 
tein. 

Greater 
weight  of 
protein 
pair. 

Increase 
of  differ- 
ence in 
weight. 

At  beginning  of  experiment... 

Lbs. 
566 

Lbs. 
603 

Lbs. 
—37 

Lbs. 

At  end  of  three  months  

778 

746 

32 

69 

At  end  of  six  months  

1,010 

921 

89 

57 

At  end  of  nine  months  

1,379 

1,249 

130 

41 

At  end  of  twelve  months  

1,618 

1,475 

143 

13 

At  end  of  fifteen  months 

1  861 

1  677 

184 

41 

At  end  of  seven  teen  months... 

1,981 

1,807 

174 

-10 

The  steers  getting  the  richer  protein  ration  made  the  more 
rapid  gains  up  to  17  months  of  age,  at  which  time  they  weighed 
174  pounds  more  than  the  other  pair.  Jordan  reports  that  those 
getting  the  most  protein  showed  the  effects  of  their  food  in  better 
general  appearance  and  greater  thrift. 

120.  Gains  of  remaining  steers. —  As  before  stated,  at  the  end 
of  17  months'  feeding  one  steer  from  each  lot  was  killed  and  the 
carcasses  subjected  to  analysis.  The  feeding  of  the  other  two 
steers,  one  in  each  lot,  continued  for  10  months  longer  under  the 
same  conditions.  It  is  interesting  and  significant  to  observe  that 
during  these  last  10  months  the  steer  getting  the  protein-rich 
ration  did  not  gain  as  rapidly  as  the  one  fed  the  protein-poor 
ration,  so  that  at  the  end  of  27  months  the  two  animals  were 
nearly  equal  in  weight.  This  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  table : 

Gain  of  steers  fed  for  the  longer  period,  27  months  —  Maine  Station. 


Protein-rich 
fed. 

Protein-poor 
fed. 

Weight  of  steer  at  beginning 

Lbs. 
345 

Lbs. 

285 

AVeight  of  steer  at  end                      

1,307 

1,290 

Net  srain,  27  months... 

962 

1,005 

Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body. 


91 


Here  we  are  shown  that  while  the  steer  getting  the  protein-rich 
ration  gained  962  pounds  in  10  months,  the  one  receiving  the 
protein-poor  ration  made  a  gain  of  1,005  pounds,  or  43  pounds 
more  than  the  one  fed  the  ration  which  at  first  gave  the  best 
returns.  This  result  is  the  surprise  of  the  investigation. 

121.  Digestible  matter  for  one  pound  of  growth. —  In  the  follow- 
ing table  is  presented  the  digestible  matter  required  for  one 
pound  of  growth  during  different  periods : 

Amount  of  digestible  matter  required  to  produce  one  pound  of  growth 
with  steers  —  Maine  Station. 


Both  steers  of  each  lot,  by  periods. 

Steers  fed 
more  protein. 

Steers  fed  less 
protein. 

During  first  three  months  

4.06 
4.26 
3.83 
6.45 
6.97 

5.96 
5.53 
4.35 

6.87 
8.08 

Dunn0"  second  three  months 

Duriiior  third  three  months 

During  fourth  three  months  

During  fifth  three  months  

Average  

5.11 

6.16 

Each  steer,  whole  period  fed. 
Steer  No.  1,  514  days  (17  months 
Steer  No.  2,  843  days  (27  months 
Steer  No.  3,  833  days  (27  months 
Steer  No.  4,  521  days  (  17  months 

4.95 
7.73 

7.08 
6.86 

The  above  table  shows  that  when  the  calves  were  building  flesh 
and  bone,  the  protein-rich  ration  was  much  more  effective  than 
the  other.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  15  months7  feeding, 
5.11  pounds  of  digestible  nutrients  in  the  protein-rich  ration 
proved  as  effective  as  6. 16  pounds  of  nutrients  in  the  protein-poor 
ration. 

In  the  second  division  of  the  table  we  learn  that  with  the  two 
steers  fed  for  27  months,  7.73  pounds  of  the  digestible  nutrients 
in  the  protein-rich  ration  were  required  during  the  whole  period 
for  one  pound  of  gain,  while  only  6.86  pounds  of  digestible  nutri- 
ents were  required  for  one  pound  of  gain  with  the  protein-poor 
ration;  that  is,  while  the  protein -rich  ration  was  more  effective 
during  the  growing  stages,  that  containing  less  protein  but  more 
carbohydrates  proved  the  most  efficient  at  the  end  of  the  27 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


months  of  feeding.     This  is  the  second  very  interesting  point, 
and  one  not  in  accord  with  the  usual  teachings. 

122.  Concerning  carcasses. —  When  slaughtered,  all  the  in- 
ternal organs  of  each  steer,  together  with  the  blood,  were  care- 
fully weighed.  It  was  found  that  there  was  no  difference  in  the 
amount  of  blood  or  in  the  size  of  the  various  organs  growing  out 
•of  the  character  of  the  feed  supplied,  nor  was  there  any  marked 
difference  in  the  percentage  of  dressed  carcass  to  live  weight  for 
the  two  lots.  The  composition  of  the  bodies  is  shown  in  the  fol- 
lowing table: 

Composition  of  steers'  bodies  and  of  increased  growth  —  Maine  Station. 


Entire  bodies, 
except  skin. 

In  fresh  material. 

In  water-free  material. 

Water. 

Dry  sub- 
stance. 

Protein. 

Fat. 

Ash. 

Two     steers     fed     27 
months,  pounds  
Two     steers     fed     17 
months,  pounds  

Per  cent,  composition 
younger  steers 

1,072.9 
829.2 

924.6 
593.2 

329.3 
248.0 

492.6 
276.9 

102.6 

68.2 

243.7 

58.2 

42.4 

331.4 
41.8 

57.6 

81.3 
41.8 

24.5 

215.7 
46.7 

65.1 

34.4 
11.5 

10.4 

Per  cent,  composition 
increase  for  next  10 
months  

Here  we  are  shown  that  the  bodies  of  the  steers  fed  17  months 
contained  58.2  per  cent,  water  and  41.8  dry  substance.  Taking 
younger  steers  for  the  basis,  the  increase  of  the  older  ones 
during  the  final  10  months  of  feeding  is  shown  in  the  last  line  of 
the  table.  From  this  we  learn  that  42.4  per  cent,  increase  in 
weight  of  the  steers  during  the  last  10  months  was  water,  while 
57.6  per  cent,  was  dry  substance. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body.  93 

123.  Composition  of  carcass. —  The  data  of  the  composition  of 
the  dressed  carcass  are  given  in  the  following  table,  these  being 
divided  into  groups  according  to  the  feeding  of  the  steers : 

Percentage  composition  of  dressed  carcass ,  fresh  substance  —  Maine 

Station. 


Water. 

Protein. 

Fat. 

Ash. 

Protein-rich 

food{ 

Steer  1, 

Steer  2, 

fed  17  mos. 
fed  27  mos. 

59.02 
51.91 

17.89 
16.93 

18.53 
25.86 

4.56 
5.30 

Protein-poor 

food{ 

Steer  3, 
Steer  4, 

fed  27  mos. 
fed  17  mos. 

52.16 
56.30 

17.10 

17.82 

25.32 
20.27 

5.42 
5.61 

Let  us  first  study  the  carcasses  of  the  steers  fed  for  17  months. 
That  of  the  steer  getting  the  protein- rich  ration  contained  more 
than  3  per  cent,  more  water,  the  same  amount  of  protein,  and 
nearly  2  per  cent,  less  fat  than  the  other.  This  is  in  line  with 
other  work  in  showing  that  one  of  the  results  of  feeding  much 
protein  to  growing  animals  is  a  carcass  containing  more  water. 
For  the  steers  carried  through  27  months  of  feeding  there  i& 
practically  no  difference  in  the  composition  of  the  carcasses. 

124.  Conclusion. —  Eeviewing  this  experiment  we  are  led  to  con- 
clude that  rations  rich  in  protein  are  more  conducive  to  rapid 
growth  and  finer  general  appearance  of  the  animal  when  young, 
than  rations  rich  in  carbohydrates  and  rather  poor  in  protein.  It 
appears  that  when  the  protein-poor  ration  contains  enough  nitro- 
gen and  ash  to  supply  the  actual  demands  of  the  body,  the  animal 
carefully  conserves  them,  being  enabled  thereby  to  fulfill  the  law& 
of  its  nature  as  to  growth.  No  doubt  if  the  steers  getting  the 
least  protein  had  been  supplied  with  less  protein  and  ash  than 
nature  requires  for  good  body -building,  they  would  plainly  have 
shown  it  by  an  abnormal  development;  but,  fortunately,  such  con- 
ditions were  not  laid  down  in  this  experiment.  This  experiment 
and  its  teachings  should  be  compared  with  the  feeding  trials  with 
pigs  by  Sanborn,  the  writer  and  others,  reported  in  the  first  part 
of  the  chapter,  where  strongly  one-sided  rations  were  fed. 


94  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

III.  Exclusive  Meal,  Feeding — Withholding  Coarse  Forage 
from  Ruminants. 

125.  Exclusive  meal  feeding.—  In  1874  Mr.  Linus  W.  Miller, 
of  New  York,  reported  that  for  several  years  he  had  successfully 
maintained  a  herd  of  dairy  cows  while  dry  in  winter  for  a  period 
of  about  eight  weeks  by  giving  to  each  animal  as  its  sole  feed  not 
above  three  quarts  of  finely-ground  corn  meal,  daily. l  It  was  his 
practice  to  cut  off  the  hay  supply  when  meal  feeding  began.  At 
first  the  animals  were  more  or  less  restless,  but  they  soon  quieted 
down,  all  rumination  ceasing.  Only  a  small  quantity  of  water 
was  drank.  The  animals  remained  in  fair  flesh.  In  the  spring, 
on  changing  back  to  normal  feeding,  a  limited  amount  of  hay  was 
at  first  given  and  the  supply  gradually  increased.  Calves  from 
cows  thus  maintained  were  strong  and  healthy. 

A  committee  was  appointed  by  L.  B.  Arnold,  president  of  the 
American  Dairyman's  Association,  to  visit  Mr.  Miller's  stable  and 
report  to  the  Association  its  findings.  The  committee  reported 
that  it  found  that  cows  weighing  about  900  pounds  each  had  been 
fed  exclusively  on  corn  meal  for  seven  weeks  at  the  time  of 
inspection,  the  animals  receiving  on  the  average  three  quarts  of 
corn  meal  each,  daily.  It  further  reported:  "  The  cows  did  not 
ruminate.  Were  very  quiet;  did  not  evince  any  inordinate 
desire  for  food  when  hay  was  shown  them;  not  so  much  as  is  dis- 
played by  cows  that  are  fed  on  hay  alone,  in  the  usual  way  of 
feeding,  a  little  less  than  they  will  eat.  Were  much  more  quiet 
than  cows  fed  mostly  on  meal  with  a  small  feeding  of  hay;  say, 
four  to  five  pounds  per  day.  We  could  not  discover  any  signs  of 
suffering  or  unrest  in  any  way  whatever." 

On  a  second  visit  of  the  committee,  thirteen  days  after  hay 
feeding  had  been  resumed  in  the  spring,  the  cows  were  "  filled 
up ' '  and  did  not  appear  different  from  others  which  had  been 
wintered  in  the  usual  way.  The  committee  further  reported 
that  the  calves  from  these  cows  "  are  of  more  than  ordinary  size, 
fleshy,  strong,  active  and  healthy. ' ' 

1  Kept.  American  Dairvman's  Association,  1874;  Meal  Feeding  and 
Animal  Digestion,  a  text-book  for  all  who  feed  condensed  food  (2d  Ed.), 
by  Linus  W.  Miller,  pub.  by  author;  Country  Gentleman,  1876;  Armsby, 
Manual  of  Cattle  Feeding,  pp.  378-383. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  the  Animal  Body.  95 

This  system  of  feeding,  or  absence  of  feeding,  excited  much 
discussion  in  the  agricultural  press  at  the  time,  but  the  practice 
seems  never  to  have  become  general  and  the  subject  is  now 
almost  forgotten. 

126.  Sanborn's  trials. —  At  the  Utah  Station,1  Sanborn  main- 
tained a  calf  six  weeks  in  winter  on  grain  and  milk,  when, 
through  its  cravings  for  coarse  forage,  the  sawdust  used  for  bed- 
ding was  eaten,  with  death  as  a  consequence.    Sheep  were  success- 
fully maintained  for  several  months  on  grain  and  roots,  with  no 
coarse  forage  whatever.     They  shrank  in  weight  at  first,  but 
after  the  paunch  was  cleared  of  coarse  feed  they  made  fair  gains. 
A  two-year-old  steer  weighing  635  pounds  on  April  13,  was  fed 
grain  only,  with  water,  until    December  2  following,  when  it 
weighed  825  pounds.     Eumination  ceased  upon  withdrawal  of 
coarse  feed.    It  was  observed  that  gains  in  these  trials  were  made 
on  about  the  same  amount  of  feed  as  is  required   with  pigs. 
Cattle  so  fed  drank  very  little  water,  voiding  a  larger  proportion 
as  urine  than  those  fed  in  the  usual  manner.    The  first  and  second 
stomachs  of  sheep  and  cattle  so  fed  weighed  less  than  the  average 
for  such  animals,  the  first  stomach  notably  so.    When  slaughtered 
the  first  stomach  was  found  hardly  half  full.     The  blood  of  the 
steer  weighed  more  than  the  average,  and  the  lungs  less. 

127.  Davenport's  experiments. — At  the  Illinois  Station, 2  Daven- 
port maintained  calves  upon  skim  milk  or  skim  milk  and  grain 
for  long  periods.     A  June  calf  was  maintained  exclusively  upon 
skim  milk  until  the  following  January,  seven  months,  by  which 
time  it  refused  its  feed,  could  not  hold  up  its  head  and  appeared 
nearly  dead.     When  straw  and  hay  were  placed  before  it  they 
were  greedily  consumed,   and  three  hours  later  the  calf  was 
ruminating  in  contentment,  thereafter  making  satisfactory  gains 
upon  mixed  feed.     In  a  second  experiment  a  calf  dropped  in  May 
subsisted  on  skim  milk  only  until  September,  when,  although 
consuming  seventy  pounds  of  skim  milk   daily,   the  creature 
showed  great  unrest.     Some  grain  was  then  fed  in  addition  to 
milk,  with  still  unfavorable  indications.    In  October,  when  hay 
was  offered,  it  was  greedily  eaten  and  rumination  began  five 

1  Bui.  46.  2  Bui.  21. 


96  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

and  one-half  hours  later.  Another  calf  was  maintained  from 
June  until  September  upon  milk  and  mixed  grains.  By  the  latter 
date  it  evinced  no  desire  for  feed  and  would  not  rise.  Later  it 
suddenly  died. 

It  was  observed  in  these  trials  that  although  enormous  quantities 
of  milk  or  milk  and  grain  were  consumed,  there  was  no  fat  on  the 
carcass  or  about  the  kidneys  of  the  calf  that  died.  The  muscles, 
instead  of  being  shrunken,  were  plump  but  exceedingly  dense 
and  rigid  to  the  touch. 

128.  Conclusions. —  The  investigations  of  Davenport  show  that 
the  quantity  of  food  consumed  by  an  animal  is  not  necessarily  an 
indication  of  its  economic  use,  enormous  amounts  being  taken  by 
these  calves  in  the  vain  effort  to  satisfy  an  abnormal  appetite. 
Under  this  form  of  starvation,  for  such  it  was,  even  with  the 
liberal  supply  of  the  particular  food  given,  there  was  observed 
1  i  a  ravenous  appetite  followed  by  enlargement  and  stiffening  of 
the  joints,  spells  of  dizziness  and  difficult  locomotion,  all  followed 
by  periods  of  relief,  and  finally  by  a  settled  feeling  of  indiffer- 
ence to  food." 

From  these  several  trials  it  is  evident  that  mature  ruminants 
can  be  maintained  for  a  considerable  period  upon  a  limited 
amount  of  ground  grain,  and  if  liberally  supplied  therewith 
they  may  even  gain  in  weight.  "With  young  animals  the  demand 
of  nature  seems  more  imperative,  and  it  appears  that  calves  can- 
not be  brought  to  maturity  upon  grain  and  milk,  either  singly  or 
combined,  as  the  sole  feed,  but  must  have  some  coarse  forage, 
without  which  rumination  is  impossible. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


EXPLANATION  OF  TABLES  OF  COMPOSITION  AND  FEEDING  STAND- 
ARDS —  METHODS  OF  CALCULATING  RATIONS  FOE  FARM  ANI- 
MALS, ETC. 

I.  Tables  of  Composition  and  Feeding  Standards. 

129.  Nutrients  of  feeding  stuffs. —  We  have  already  learned  how 
the  chemist  divides  the  constituents  of  feeding  stuffs  into  groups, 
which  are  placed  in  tables  for  convenient  reference.  From  Table 
I  of  the  Appendix  there  is  here  abstracted  the  fragment  marked 
Example  Table  A,  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  subject 
of  nutrients  in  feeding  stuffs. 

Example  Table  A,  showing  the  water  and  total  nutrients  found  by  the 
chemist  in  several  common  feeding  stuffs. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Total  in  100  pounds. 

Water. 

Protein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitrogen- 
free  extract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Roughage. 
Corn  stover,  field  cured.. 
Red  clover  hay  

Lbs. 

40.5 
15.3 
13.2 
9.2 

10.6 
11.0 
11.9 
9.2 

Lbs. 

3.8 
12.3 
5.9 
4.0 

10.3 
11.8 
15.4 
32.9 

Lbs. 

19.7 

24.8 
29.0 
37.0 

2.2 
9.5 
9.0 
8.9 

Lbs. 

31.5 
38.1 
45.0 
42.4 

70.4 
59.7 
53.9 
35.4 

Lbs. 

1.1 
3.3 
2.5 
2.3 

5.0 
5.0 
4.0 
7.9 

Timothy  hay  

Oat  straw 

Concentrates. 
Corn  dent  

Oats  

"Wheat  bran  

Linseed  meal,  O.  P  

In  tables  of  this  character  the  results  stated  are  always  the 
average  of  all  analyses  for  each  feed  on  record  at  the  time  of  com- 
pilation. 

The  table  shows  that  100  pounds  of  average  field- cured  fodder 
corn  contain  40.5  pounds  of  water  —  a  much  larger  amount  than 
the  feeder  will,  on  first  thought,  suppose  possible  in  what  he  has 
7 


98 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


always  regarded  as  "dry"  forage.  Of  the  nutrients  in  100 
pounds  of  stover,  3.8  pounds  are  protein,  while  the  same  weight 
of  oat  straw  contains  4  pounds.  Were  it  not  for  the  large  amount 
of  water  in  corn  stover,  it  would  exceed  straw  in  protein.  Of 
crude  fiber,  the  least  valuable  constituent  of  fodders,  the  stover 
contains  19. 7  pounds,  or  only  about  one-half  as  much  as  oat  straw. 
In  nitrogen-free  extract  straw  again  leads,  containing  42.4  pounds 
against  31.5  in  stover.  The  table  shows  that  the  concentrates 
usually  contain  a  higher  proportion  of  protein  than  the  coarse 
fodders,  red  clover  and  other  legumes  excepted.  Corn  is  low  in 
crude  fiber,  while  oats  are  relatively  high  because  of  the  husk 
which  surrounds  the  oat  kernel.  The  cereals,  especially  corn,  are 
rich  in  nitrogen-free  extract,  which  is  principally  starch.  Corn 
and  oats  each  contain  five  pounds  of  ether  extract,  and  linseed 
meal  eight  pounds,  practically  all  oil. 

130.  Digestion  coefficients. —  Elsewhere  it  is  shown  how  the 
animal  physiologist  through  feeding  trials  and  analytical  work 
ascertains  what  percentage  of  the  several  nutrients  in  a  feeding 
stuff  is  digested  by  farm  animals.  Table  II  of  the  Appendix  sum- 
marizes the  results  of  digestion  trials  with  the  leading  feeds. 
Example  Table  B,  here  given,  shows  the  average  digestion  coef- 
ficients for  the  feeding  stuffs  given  in  Table  A. 

Example  Table  B,  showing  the  average  coefficients  of  digestibility  for 
the  feeding  stuffs  presented  in  Table  A. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

No.  of 
separate 
trials. 

Percentage  digestibility. 

Dry 
matter. 

Protein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitrogen- 
free 
extract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Roughage. 
Corn  stover,  all 
varieties  
Red  clover  hay 
Timothy  hay... 
Oat  straw  

Concentrates. 

8 
2 
26 
19 

12 
39 
11 

3 

60 
55 
57 

48 

91 
70 
61 

79 

45 
55 

48 
30 

76 

78 
79 

89 

67 
46 
52 
54 

58 
20 
22 

57 

61 
64 
63 
44 

93 
76 

69 

78 

62 
53 
60 
33 

86 
83 
68 

89 

Oats 

Wheat  bran  
liinseed  meal. 
O.  P  

Tables  of  Composition  and  Feeding  Standards.  99 

The  second  column  of  the  table  shows  that  eight  feeding  trials 
have  been  made  with  corn  stover  to  determine  the  digestibility  of 
its  several  components.  Sixty  per  cent,  of  the  dry  matter,  45  of  the 
protein,  67  of  the  crude  fiber,  61  of  the  nitrogen-free  extract,  and 
62  per  cent,  of  the  ether  extract  are,  on  the  average,  digested 
from  this  fodder  by  the  fluids  of  the  alimentary  tract  and  absorbed 
by  the  animal  body.  In  statements  of  this  character,  the  aver- 
age of  a  large  number  of  determinations  is  more  satisfactory  and 
reliable  than  the  data  of  a  single  trial. 

Table  A  shows  that  oat  straw  contains  more  protein  than  corn 
stover.  Table  B  shows  that  45  per  cent,  of  the  protein  in  corn 
stover,  and  only  30  per  cent,  of  that  in  oat  straw,  are  digestible. 
It  shows  that  the  nutrients  in  the  concentrates  are  more  digestible 
than  those  in  roughage,  crude  fiber  excepted.  For  example, 
78  per  cent,  of  the  protein  in  the  oat  grain,  and  only  30  per  cent, 
of  that  in  oat  straw,  are  digestible.  In  corn  stover  61  per  cent,  of 
the  nitrogen-free  extract  is  digestible,  and  in  the  corn  grain  93 
per  cent.  It  thus  appears  that  a  given  quantity  of  total  nutrients 
in  concentrated  feeding  stuffs  is  usually  more  valuable  than  the 
same  amount  in  coarse  forage. 

131.  Total  digestible  nutrients. —  Example  Table  C  is  a  por- 
tion of  Table  III  of  the  Appendix.  Having  learned  the  composi- 
tion of  the  several  common  feeding  stuffs  from  Table  A,  and  the 
percentage  digestibility  of  each  of  these  nutrients  from  Table  B, 
the  student  is  now  in  position  to  consider  the  third  table,  derived 
from  them,  presenting  the  digestible  substance  in  100  pounds  of 
each  of  the  feeding  stuffs  under  consideration.  The  statement 
for  each  nutrient  in  this  table  is  determined  by  multiplying  its 
composition,  as  given  in  Table  A,  by  the  factor  of  digestibility  in 
Table  B. 


100 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


j 


Example  Table  C,  showing  the  digestibility  in  feeding  stuffs  considered 
under  Tables  A  and  B. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Total 
dry 
matter. 

Total  digestible  substance 
in  100  pounds. 

Nutritive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Roughage. 
Corn  stover  

Lbs. 

59.5 

84.7 
86.8 
90.8 

89.4 
89.0 
88.1 
90.8 

Lbs. 

1.7 

6.8 
2.8 
1.2 

7.8 
9.2 
12.2 
29.3 

Lbs. 

32.4 

35.8 
43.4 
38.6 

66.7 
47.3 
39.2 
32.7 

Lbs. 

0.7 
1.7 
1.5 

0.8 

4.3 
4.2 
2.7 
7.0 

1  :20 
1  :5.8 
1  :  16.7 
1  :33.7 

1  :9.8 
1  :6.2 
1  :3.7 
1  :1.7 

Red  clover  hay  

Timothy  hay 

Oat  straw.. 

Concentrates. 
Corn  or  corn  meal 

Oats  

Wheat  bran  

Oil  meal,  O.  P  

Table  A  shows  that  corn  stover  contains  3.8  pounds  of  protein 
and  oat  straw  4  pounds;  45  per  cent,  of  the  protein  in  stover,  and 
only  30  per  cent,  of  that  in  straw,  are  digestible;  consequently  100 
pounds  of  average  corn  stover  contain  1.7  pounds  of  digestible 
protein,  while  the  same  weight  of  oat  straw  contains  only  1.2 
pounds.  Thus  it  is  shown  that  although  oat  straw  contains  more 
total  protein  than  corn  stover,  the  latter  has  more  digestible  pro- 
tein. In  digestible  protein  clover  hay  stands  in  strong  contrast 
with  oat  straw, — 100  pounds  of  the  former  containing  6.8  pounds 
against  1.2  pounds  for  the  straw.  Corn  contains  66.7  pounds  of 
digestible  carbohydrates  per  hundred  weight,  while  corn  stover 
contains  32.4  pounds,  or  one-half  as  much. 

132.  Nutritive  ratio. —  This  expression,  not  heretofore  used,  is 
common  with  the  student  of  feeding  problems  and  should  be 
understood  by  all,  since  it  is  helpful  in  studying  different  feeding 
substances.  By  "  nutritive  ratio  "  is  meant  the  ratio  which  exists 
between  the  amount  of  the  digestible  protein  in  a  given  feeding 
stuff  and  the  amount  of  the  digestible  carbohydrates  and  ether 
extract  it  contains.  It  is  ascertained  in  the  following  manner: 
The  amount  of  digestible  ether  extract  is  multiplied  by  2.4, 
because  ether  extract  is  considered  as  having  this  heat  value  com- 


Tables  of  Composition  and  Feeding  Standards.  101 

pared  with,  the  carbohydrates. l  The  product  obtained  is  added 
to  the  total  quantity  of  digestible  carbohydrates  in  the  given  fod- 
der and  the  sum  is  divided  by  the  digestible  protein. 

The  method  of  calculating  the  nutritive  ratio  for  corn  stover, 
the  digestible  nutrients  in  which  are  protein  1.7,  carbohydrates 
32.4,  and  ether  extract  0.7.  is  as  follows: 

/  7  ** 

Ether  Heat 

extract.  equivalent. 

.7          X  2.4        =       1.68 

Carbohy- 
drates. 
1.68         +         32.4       =       34.08 

Protein. 

34.08          +  1.7        =       20  + 

Kutritive  ratio     1  :  20. 

In  expressing  the  nutritive  ratio  of  corn  stover  thus,  1  :  20,  it 
is  meant  that  for  each  pound  of  digestible  protein  in  corn  stover 
there  are  20  pounds  of  digestible  carbohydrates  and  ether-extract 
equivalent.  The  nutritive  ratios  of  the  several  feeds  are  placed 
in  the  last  column  of  the  table.  The  nutritive  ratio  of  oat  straw 
is  shown  by  the  table  to  be  1  :  33.7.  This  is  called  a  "  wide  "  ratio 
because  of  the  very  large  quantity  of  carbohydrates  contained 
in  this  feed  in  proportion  to  the  protein.  With  Indian  corn  the 
nutritive  ratio  is  1  :  9.8.  Such  an  expression  is  spoken  of  as  a 
i  i  medium 7 '  ratio.  In  oil  meal  the  nutritive  ratio  is  1  : 1. 7,  the 
protein  almost  equaling  the  carbohydrates  and  fat  combined. 
Such  an  expression  is  called  a  "  narrow  "  nutritive  ratio. 

133.  Wofff-Lehmann  feeding  standards. —  Step  by  step  we  have 
advanced  until  it  is  shown  in  the  last  table  what  portion  of  feed- 
ing stuffs  is  available  for  the  nutrition  of  farm  animals.  Let  us 
next  direct  attention  to  the  quantity  of  the  several  nutrients 
in  feeding  stuffs  required  by  farm  animals.  While  analytical  work 
and  digestion  trials  were  in  progress  by  the  physiologist  and 
chemist,  feeding  trials  were  being  conducted  to  determine  how 
much  protein,  carbohydrates  and  ether  extract  were  required  to 
properly  nurture  farm  animals  of  the  several  classes,  under  various 

1  American  writers  generally  use  the  factor  2.2  or  2.25.     See  Article  61. 


102 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


conditions.  The  following  Example  Table  D  from  Table  IV 
of  the  Appendix  presents  the  food  requirements  of  certain  farm 
animals: 

Example  Table  D7  sJiowing  the  amount  of  dry  matter  and  digestible 
nutrients  required  daily  by  farm  animals  per  1,000  pounds  live 
weight. 


Dry 

matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Nutritive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Ox  at  complete  rest  in 
stall.  

Lbs. 
18.0 

30.0 

29.0 
24.0 

Lbs. 
0.7 

2.5 

2.5 
2.0 

Lbs. 
8.0 

15.0 

13.0 
11.0 

Lbs. 
0.1 

0.5 

0.5 
0.6 

1  ill.  8 
1  :6.5 

1  :5.7 
1  :6.2 

Fattening  cattle  (first 
period  )  

Milch  cow  (yielding  22 
pounds  daily).. 

Horse  (medium  work).... 

NOTE. —  The  "  Sum  of  nutrients  "  in  the  larger  table  has  been  omitted 
from  this  table  in  order  to  simplify  the  explanation. 

The  first  subject  for  consideration  is  the  amount  of  nutrients 
required  to  maintain  an  ox  weighing  1,000  pounds  when  at  rest 
in  the  stall,  neither  gaining  nor  losing  in  weight.  The  table 
states  this  to  be  as  follows:  Dry  matter,  18  pounds;  digestible 
protein,  .7  pounds;  digestible  carbohydrates,  8  pounds;  ether 
extract,  .1  pound.  A  ration  containing  these  nutrients  has  a  nutri- 
tive ratio  of  1  :  11.8.  (443)  Although  the  ox  is  referred  to  as 
"at  rest,"  nevertheless  work  is  being  accomplished.  The  heart 
is  forcing  blood  currents  through  the  body,  and  digestion  and 
assimilation  are  in  progress;  even  the  act  of  standing  and  breath- 
ing constitutes  work.  Each  of  the  many  manifestations  of  life 
calls  for  food-fuel  and  repair  material.  Conceding  that  the  above 
feeding  standard  is  correct,  the  ox  which  receives  less  nutrients 
than  here  stated  will  lose  in  weight,  while  if  more  are  allowed 
he  will  increase  in  weight. 

n.   Calculating  Rations  for  Farm  Animals. 

134.  Ration  for  the  steer  at  rest. —  With  Table  C,  giving  the 
digestible  nutrients  in  several  common  feeding  stuffs,  and  Table  D, 
stating  the  requirements  of  the  ox  for  maintenance,  we  have  the 


Calculating  Rations  for  Farm  Animals. 


103 


data  for  calculating  how  much  feed  should  be  supplied  in  order 
to  maintain  this  animal. 

For  the  trial  ration,  we  decide  to  use  10  pounds  of  corn  stover 
and  10  pounds  of  oat  straw.  Let  us  ascertain  the  digestible 
nutrients  these  will  supply. 

Calculations  for  dry  matter  and  digestible  nutrients  in  corn  stover  and 

oat  straw. 

Corn  stover. 

In  100 
pounds. 

Dry  matter 59.5  — 

Protein 1.7  — 

Carbohydrates 32.4  — 

Ether  extract . . 


In  10 
pounds. 

-  100  X  10 

=  5.95 

-  100  X  10 

=  .17 

-  100  X  10 

=  3.24 

-  100  X  10 

=  .07 

-  100  X  10 

=  9.08 

-  100  X  10 

=  .12 

-  100  X  10 

=  3.86 

-  100  X  10 

=  .08 

Oat  straw. 

Dry  matter 90.8  —  100 

Protein 1.2  — 

Carbohydrates 38. 6 

Ether  extract .8  — 

Arranging  these  in  a  table,  with  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standard 
for  comparison,  we  have: 

First  trial  maintenance  ration  for  ox  at  rest  weighing  1,000  pounds  — 
Wolff-Lehmann  Standard. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Dry 

matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Nutritive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Corn  stover,  10  pounds  ... 
Oat  straw,  10  pounds  

Lbs. 

5.95 
9.08 

Lbs. 

.17 

.12 

Lbs. 

3.24 
3.86 

Lbs. 

.07 

.08 

First  trial  ration. 

15.03 

.29 

7.10 

.15 

Wolff-Lehmann  stand'  rd 

18.0 

.7 

8. 

.10 

1:11.8 

The  trial  ration  falls  below  the  standard  in  everything  except 
ether  extract,  the  deficiency  being  especially  marked  as  to  protein. 


104 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


To  complete  the  ration  there  is  added  one  pound  each  of  oil  meal 
and  corn  meal.  Ascertaining  the  nutrients  in  these  as  before,  we 
have  the  second  trial  maintenance  ration,  which  is  as  follows: 

Second  trial  maintenance  ration  for  ox  at  rest  weighing  1,000  pounds  — 
Wolff-Lelimann  Standard. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Dry 
matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Nutritive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Ration  as  above 

Lbs. 

15.03 

.908 
.894 

Lbs. 

.29 
.293 
.078 

Lbs. 

7.10 
.327 
.667 

Lbs. 

.15 
.07 
.043 

.  * 

Oil  meal  1  pound 

Com  meal  1  pound     .  ... 

Second  trial  ration  

16.832 

.661 

8.094 

.203 

1:12.5 

WohT-Lehmann  stand'  rd 

18.0 

.7 

8.0 

.10 

1:11.8 

This  second  trial  ration  falls  below  the  standard  by  more  than 
a  pound  of  dry  matter,  but  this  deficiency  is  of  small  importance. 
In  protein  the  ration  is  almost  up  to  the  standard,  exceeding  it 
slightly  in  carbohydrates,  and  considerably  in  ether  extract. 

The  nutritive  ratio  of  this  ration  is  1  : 12. 5.  The  ration  approx- 
imates the  standard  as  closely  as  can  be  attained  without  using 
fractions  of  pounds,  and  near  enough  for  purposes  of  illustration. 
From  this  we  learn  that  ten  pounds  each  of  corn  stover  and  oat 
straw,  and  one  pound  each  of  oil  meal  and  corn  meal  per  day,  will 
nurture  a  steer  weighing  1,000  pounds  so  that  he  will  neither  gain 
nor  lose  in  weight  —  that  is,  such  a  combination  constitutes  a 
1  i  maintenance ? '  ration. 

135.  A  ration  for  the  fattening  steer. —  Example  Table  D  shows 
that  the  fattening  steer  (first  period)  requires  more  than  three 
times  as  much  protein,  five  times  as  much  ether  extract,  and 
nearly  twice  as  much  carbohydrates,  as  constitute  a  maintenance 
ration,  with  the  nutritive  ratio  narrowed  to  1  :  6. 5.  It  is  apparent 
that  more  concentrated  feed  must  enter  into  this  ration  than  into 
the  first  one.  For  a  trial  ration  we  choose  10  pounds  of  corn 


Calculating  Eations  for  Farm  Animals. 


105 


stover,  8  pounds  of  oat  straw  and  12  pounds  of  corn.     Calculating 
the  nutrients  in  these  as  in  the  first  instance,  we  have: 

-First  trial  ration  for  the  rapid  fattening  of  a  steer  weighing  1,000 
pounds  (first  period)  —  Wolff -Lehmann  Standard. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Dry 

matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Nutritive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

t 

Corn  stover,  10  pounds  ... 
Oat  straw  8  pounds 

Lbs. 

5.95 
7.264 
10.728 

Lbs. 

.17 

.096 
.936 

Lbs. 

3.24 

3.088 
8.004 

Lbs. 

.07 
.064 
.516 

Corn  12  pounds 

First  trial  ration  

23.942 

1.202 

14.332 

.650 

Wolff-Lehmann  standard 

30.0 

2.5 

15.0 

.50 

1:6.5 

This  trial  ration  falls  below  the  standard  in  each  nutrient, 
especially  in  protein.  Some  feed  rich  in  protein  should  be  added, 
and  accordingly  4  pounds  of  oil  ineal,  O.  P.,  are  used. 

Second  trial  ration  for  the  rapid  fattening  of  a  steer —  Wolff-Lehmann 

Standard. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Dry 

matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Nutritive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Ration  as  above  

Lbs. 

23.942 
3.632 

Lbs. 

1.202 
1.172 

Lbs. 

14.332 
1.308 

Lbs. 

.65 

.28 

Oil  meal,  O.  P.,  4  pounds 

Second  trial  ration  

27.574 

2.374 

15.640 

.93 

1:  7.5 

Wolff-Lehmann  stand  'rd 

30.0 

2.5 

15.00 

.50 

1:6.5 

This  ration  falls  below  the  standard  by  nearly  2.5  pounds  of 
dry  matter  and  a  little  more  than  .  1  of  a  pound  protein.  There 
is  an  excess  of  both  carbohydrates  and  ether  extract.  By  re- 
ducing the  allowance  of  corn  meal  one  pound  and  increasing 


106  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

the  oil  meal  by  the  same  amount,  the  standard  would  be  more 
nearly  reached,  although  there  is  already  a  fairly  close  agreement. 
This  shows  that  the  fattening  steer  weighing  1,000  pounds  will 
be  nurtured  to  very  nearly  his  full  requirement  when  receiving 
the  following  ration:  10  pounds  of  corn  stover,  8  pounds  of  oat 
straw,  12  pounds  of  corn,  4  pounds  of  oil  meal. 

136.  Calculating  a  ration  for  the  dairy  cow. —  In  determining 
a  ration  for  a  dairy  cow  yielding  22  pounds  of  milk  daily,  we 
choose  from  the  list  of  feeds  in  Table  C,  8  pounds  of  red  clover 
hay,  10  pounds  of  corn  stover,  3  pounds  of  oat  straw,  for  rough- 
age, and  5  pounds  each  of  corn  meal  and  bran  for  concentrates. 
The  digestible  nutrient^  in  these  are  ascertained  as  follows: 

Calculations  for  dry  matter  and  digestible  nutrients  in  trial 
ration  for  dairy  cow. 

Red  clover  hay.  Corn  stover. 

In  100  In  8  In  100  In  10 

pounds.  pounds.  pounds.  pounds. 

84.7^100X8  =  6.776  59.5-4-100x10=5.95 

6.8^-100x8  =  .544  1.7-4-100x10  =  .17 

35.8-4-100x8=2.864  32.4-4-100x10=3.24 

1.7   -4-100x8  =  .136  .      .7-4-100x10  =  .07 

Oat  straw.  Corn  meal. 

In  100  In  3     ^-        In  100  In  5 

pounds.  pounds.  pounds.  pounds. 

90.8-4-100x3=2.724  89.4-f-100x5=4.47 
1.2^-100x3=  .036  7.8-^-100x5=  .39 

38.6-4-100x3  =  1.158  66.7-4-100x5=3.335 
.8-^100x3=  .024  4.3-4-100x5  =  .215 

Bran. 
In  100  In  5 

pounds.  pounds. 

88.1-4-100x5=4.405 
12.2-^-100x5=  .61 
39.2-4-100x5=1.96 
2.7^-100x5=  .135 

Arranging  these  results  in  tabular  form,  with  the  Wolff- Leh- 
mann  standard  for  comparison,  we  have  the  following: 


Calculating  Rations  for  Farm  Animals. 


107 


First  trial  ration  for  dairy  cow  weighing  1,000  pounds  and  yielding  22 
pounds  of  milk  daily — Wolff -Lelimann  Standard. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Dry 

matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Bed  clover  hay,  8  pounds  .. 
Corn  stover  10  pounds  

Lbs. 

6.776 
.5.95 
2.724 
4.47 
4.405 

Lbs. 

.544 
.17 
.036 
.39 
.61 

Lbs. 

2.864 
3.24 
1.158 
3.335 
1.96 

Lbs. 

.136 
.07 
.024 
.215 
.135 

Oat  straw  3  pounds 

Corn  meal  5  pounds  • 

Bran  5  pounds..         

First  trial  ration 

24.325 

1.750 

12.557 

.580 

Wolff-Lehmann  standard.. 

29.0 

2.5 

13.0 

.50 

1  :5.7 

This  trial  ration  falls  considerably  below  the  standard,  espe- 
cially in  protein,  and  to  correct  this,  3  pounds  of  oil  meal  are 
added. 

Second  trial  ration  for  dairy  cow  weighing  1,000  pounds  and  yielding 
22  pounds  of  milk  daily — Wolff-Lehmann  Standard. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Dry 
matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Ration  as  above 

Lbs. 

24.325 
2.724 

Lbs. 

1.750 

.879 

Lbs. 

12.557 

.981 

Lbs. 

.580 
.21 

Oil  meal  3  pounds 

Second  trial  ration  

27.049 

2.629 

13.538 

.79 

1:5.9 

Wolff-Lehmann  standard  .. 

29.0 

2.5 

13.0 

.50 

1:5.7 

The  second  trial  ration  is  2  pounds  below  the  standard  in  dry 
matter,  something  of  little  significance  as  it  is  really  of  satisfactory 
volume  as  it  stands.  All  the  nutrients  are  slightly  in  excess  of 
the  standard,  the  nutritive  ratio  being  1:5.9,  while  the  standard 
calls  for  1:5.7. 

We  learn  from  this  that  a  satisfactory  ration  for  a  dairy  cow 
weighing  1,000  pounds  and  yielding  22  pounds  of  milk  daily 
may  be  composed  of  the  following:  Eed  clover,  8  pounds ;  corn 


108  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

stover,  10  pounds;  corn  meal  and  bran,  each  5  pounds;  oat  straw 
and  oil  meal,  each  3  pounds. 

137.  Concerning  rations. —  In  preparing  a  ration  it  is  well  to  start 
with  what  may  be  called  a  "trial  "  ration,  composed  of  two  or 
more  kinds  of  coarse  forage  with  a  moderate  supply  of  some 
desirable  concentrate.     When  the  nutrients  these  furnish  have 
been  placed  in  tabular  form,  a  few  trials  will  determine  the 
quantity  of  other  concentrates  necessary  to  bring  the  ration  up 
to  the  standard.     It  is  usually  impossible  to  compound  rations 
for  ruminants  from  common  American  feeding  stuffs  which  will 
furnish  the  large  amount  of  dry  matter  called  for  by  the  Wolff- 
Lehmann  standard.     While  volume  is  an  important  factor  in 
feeding,  it  is  better  to  allow  the  ration  to  fall  below  the  standard 
in  dry  matter  than  to  add  so  much  coarse  forage  with  its  large 
percentage  of  inert  matter.     Our  common  feeding  materials  are 
of  such  composition  that  in  placing  enough  of  them  in  the  ration 
to  furnish  the  requisite  protein  and  carbohydrates,  there  is  usually 
an  excess  of  ether  extract  according  to  the  standard,  but  this 
cannot  be  avoided.     There  is  no  direct  way  of  calculating  the 
exact  quantities  of  the  nutrients  to  be  used  in  formulating  rations, 
the  desired  result  being  reached  only  by  repeated  trials,  each 
bringing  the  calculation  nearer  the  desired  standard.     With  the 
explanations  given,  the  stockman  should  find  no   difficulty  in 
calculating  rations  for  the  farm  animals  under  his  care. 

III.  Feeding  Tables  and  Standards. 

138.  The  first  feeding  table. —  The  first  attempt  to  systematically 
compare  various  feeding  stuffs  one  with  another  was  by  Thaer, 1 
who  in  1810   published  a  table  giving  what  he  termed  "hay 
equivalents."     With  common  hay  as  the  standard  unit,  the  feed- 
ing values  were  in  part  as  follows: 

One  hundred  pounds  meadow  hay  is  equal  in  feeding  value  to  — 
200  pounds  potatoes.  602  pounds  cabbages. 

625  pounds  mangels.  91  pounds  clover  hay. 

417  pounds  rutabagas.  91  pounds  alfalfa  hay. 

Naturally,  opinions  varied  as  to  the  comparative  values  of  vari- 
1  Thaer,  Landwirtschaft,  New  Ed.,  1880,  p.  211. 


Feeding  Tables  and  Standards.  109 

ous  feeding  stuffs,  and  so  there  were  about  as  many  tables  of  "  hay 
equivalents ' '  as  there  were  writers  on  economic  agriculture.  Im- 
perfect as  it  was,  Thaer's  table  served  to  draw  attention  to  an 
important  subject  and  was  the  beginning  of  something  far  more 
elaborate  and  useful. 

139.  The  first  feeding  standard. —  In  1859  Grouven1  proposed 
the  first  feeding   standard  for  farm  animals,  based  on  the  total 
quantity  of  protein,  carbohydrates  and   ether  extract  found  by 
analysis  in  feeding  stuffs.     This  standard  fell  short  of  require- 
ments, since  it  considered  the  total  nutrients  instead  of  the  digesti- 
ble portion. 

140.  Wolffs  standards.— In  1864,  Dr.  Emil  v.  Wolff,  the  great 
German  scientist   and   author,  published  for  the  first  time,  in 
Mentzel  &  v.  Lengerke's  Agricultural  Calendar,  standards  based 
upon  the  digestible  nutrients  of  feeding  stuffs.     In  these  stand- 
ards the  attempt  was  made  to  meet  the  physiological  require- 
ments of  the  animal  by  supplying  sufficient  protein,  carbohydrates 
and  ether  extract  for  all  the  needs  of  the  body,  without  waste  of 
any  of  the  nutrients.     Wolff's  feeding  standards  have  become 
popular  among  the  more   progressive  American  farmers  and 
stockmen  and  have  been   used  wherever   agricultural  science 
is  recognized.     Their  popularity  is  due  in  a  large  measure  to 
their  simplicity,  ease  of  application,  and  the  positive  character 
of  the  statements  made.     In  these   standards,  accompanied  by 
tables  of  digestibility,  the  stockman  has  before  him  the  data 
necessary  to  calculate  rations  for  the  different  farm  animals,  little 
or  nothing  being  left  in  uncertainty. 

141.  Kuehn's   position. —  The  strength  of  Wolff's  standards  is 
also  their  weakness,  for  such  mathematical  statements  cannot 
stand  without  marked  qualifications  when  dealing  with  the  com- 
plex problem  of  animal  life  and  its  nurture  by  food. 

Julius  Kiihn,  another  German  writer  and  investigator  of  the 
highest  repute,  holds2  that  Wolff's  standards  "are  objectionable 
and  misleading  to  the  farmer.77  According  to  this  author,  Wolff 

1  Feeding  Standards  for  Domestic  Animals,  Expt.  Sta.  Rec.,  vol.  IV; 
also  Agricultur-Chemie,  Koln,  1859,  p.  603. 

2  Feeding  Standards  for  Domestic  Animals,  Expt.  Sta.  Rec.,  vol.  IV, 
pp.  6-13. 


110  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

is  incorrect  when  he  bases  the  total  quantity  of  food  to  be  sup- 
plied on  the  organic  substance  contained,  instead  of  the  dry 
matter,  as  originally  stated  by  Lingenthal  and  Grouven.  Again, 
Wolff  places  the  allowance  of  organic  matter  required  by  the 
dairy  cow  at  25  pounds ;  Kiihn  tells  us  this  may  vary  between  the 
extremes  of  20  and  33.5  pounds.  Changes  in  the  amount  of  dry 
matter  supplied  should,  however,  always  be  gradual.  Kiihn  fur- 
ther protests  against  prescribing  exact  quantities  of  nutrients  as 
norms  or  standards.  "For  the  individual  nutrients,  as  for  the 

'  total  amount  of  food,  it  is  essential  to  determine  the  amount  for 
each  individual  case,  and  in  doing  this  the  particular  conditions 
should  be  considered.77  Wolff  does  not  distinguish  between 
digestible  albuminoids  and  amides;  Kiihn  holds  that  the  lower 
nutritive  effect  of  amide  compounds  can  no  longer  be  doubted, 
and  that  these  amides  can  at  best  serve  only  as  albuminoid  con- 
servers,  like  the  carbohydrates,  and  further  that  the  non-albu- 
minoid protein  includes  compounds  which  do  not  even  exert  this 
conserving  action  and  whose  nutritive  function  is  very  doubtful. 
Grouven  fixed  the  total  protein  (digestible  and  indigestible) 
for  the  dairy  cow  at  2. 74  pounds,  while  Wolff  places  the  standard 
at  2.5  of  digestible  albuminoids  and  amides.  Kiihn  states  that 
the  cow  of  high  productive  capacity  during  her  largest  flow  of 

j  milk  requires  more  than  2.5  pounds  of  digestible  protein,  while 
smaller  amounts  than  Wolff  names  should  be  given  with  dimin- 
ishing milk  flow.  Again,  the  ether  extract  or  so-called  "fat" 
of  food  varies  in  nutritive  effect  according  to  its  origin;  that  from 
oil  cake,  for  example,  having  a  higher  feeding  value  than  that 
found  in  coarse  fodders.  In  the  same  way,  nitrogen-free  extract 
includes  substances,  of  variable  composition,  some  of  which  are 
of  questionable  nutritive  value,  and  to  count  all  these  as  equiva- 
lent to  starch  for  feeding  purposes  is  far  from  correct.  Finally, 
Kiihn  lays  stress  on  the  importance  of  individual  feeding,  declar- 
ing that  the  stockman  must  carefully  study  the  requirements  of 
each  animal  and  nourish  it  according  to  its  individual  wants, 
instead  of  placing  all  members  of  the  herd  or  flock  on  inflexible 
rations  constructed  according  to  definite  standards.  He  con- 
cludes that  fodders  vary  so  greatly  in  composition  that  to  use 


Feeding  Tables  and  Standards.  Ill 

average  analyses  in  calculating  rations  with  the  exactness  pre- 
scribed by  Wolff  may  lead  to  very  unsatisfactory  results. 

142.  The  Wolif-Lehmann  standard. — Wolff's  feeding  standards 
'   were  given  annually  in  the  Mentzel-Lengerke  Agricultural  Cal- 
endar from  1864  to  1896.     The  calendar  for  1897  was  prepared  by 
Dr.  C.  Lehmann  of  the  Berlin  Agricultural  College.     This  table 
is  changed  from  Wolff's  in  several  particulars.     "Dry  matter" 
takes  the  place  of    " organic  matter77    in  Wolff's  table.     A 
double  column  not  used  by  Wolff  is  headed  "Sum  of  nutrients." 
In  the  first  of  these  columns  all  of  the  digestible  crude  fiber  is 
included  with  the  other  nutrients.     In  the  second  column  only 
one-half  of  the  crude  fiber  found  digestible  is  included.     Leh- 
mann recognizes  the  varying  wants  of  dairy  cows  by  classifying 
them  in  four  divisions  according  to  the  milk  they  yield,  the 
heaviest  milkers  receiving  the  most  nutrients. 

While  Wolff's  tables  have  heretofore  been  universally  used 
in  this  country,  it  seems  proper  to  adopt  the  modifications  of 
Lehmann. 

143.  Introduction  of  standards  in  America. —  Feeding  standards 
were  first  brought  to  the  attention  of  Americans  by  Atwater1  in 
1874,  and  the  efforts  of  this  teacher  and  investigator  have  fortu- 
nately been  continued  in  the  same  line  to  the  present  time,  greatly 
to  the  advancement  of  scientific   agriculture  in  this  country. 
Armsby's  Manual  of  Cattle  Feeding,  based  on  Wolff's  book2  on 
the  same  subject,  appeared  in  1880  and  marked  an  era  in  the 
educational  development  of  this  topic.     From  these  sources  the 
students  in  our  agricultural  colleges,  writers  and  lecturers  have 
come  to  know  of  feeding  standards,  and  through  them,  thousands 
of  feeders  have  learned  to  calculate  rations  for  farm  animals. 

IV.   The  Several  Feeding  Standards. 

144.  The  maintenance  ration  for  the  ox. —  In  1879  Sanborn, 3  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Agricultural  College,  reported  that  the  steer 
could  be  maintained  on  a  smaller  amount  of  hay  than  called  for 
by  Wolff's  standard.     Subsequent  experiments  by  this  investi- 

1Rept.  Me.  State  Bd.  Agr.,  1874;  Kept.  Secy.  Conn.  Bd.  Agr.,  1874-5. 

2  Futterungslehre,  1st  ed.,  1874;  6th  ed.,  1895. 

*  Kept.  N.  H.  Bd.  Agr.,  1879.    See  also  subsequent  reports. 


112  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

gator  confirmed  his  statement  that  Wolff's  maintenance  standard 
was  really  sufficient  in  nutrients  to  allow  the  animal  to  make  a 
gain  in  weight.  These  statements  were  at  first  controverted, 1  the 
assumption  being  that  the  Germans  must  be  right  and  the  Ameri- 
can investigator  wrong.  At  the  Cornell  University  Station,2 
Caldwell,  feeding  four  steers  on  a  ration  containing  the  following 
nutrients:  dry  substance  15.3,  protein  .68,  carbohydrates  and  fat 
8.6  (nutritive  ratio,  1: 13.2),  secured  the  following: 

Weight  of  4  steers,  January  20,  3,492  pounds. 
Weight  of  4  steers,  March  21,  3,672  pounds. 

Here  is  a  gain  of  180  pounds  in  two  months  on  a  maintenance 
ration  according  to  Wolff. 

Eeviewing  his  own  and  the  work  of  others,  Caldwell  wrote: 
"The  results  of  the  many  tests  to  which  they  (standard  rations) 
have  been  subjected  at  various  places  in  the  country  make  it 
evident  that  with  such  data  as  we  at  present  have  at  command, 
no  ration  can  be  calculated  that  will  do  the  same  work  or  pro- 
duce the  effect  for  which  it  was  calculated  in  all  cases,  and  per- 
haps not  even  in  a  majority  of  cases,  and  that  sometimes  such 
rations  entirely  fail  to  accomplish  the  purpose  for  which  they 
were  calculated  and  used." 

145.  Kuehn's  standard  maintenance  ration. —  Investigations  ex- 
tending from  1882  to  1890  by  G.  Kuhn3  show  that  the  full-grown 
ox  kept  in  perfect  quiet  in  the  stall  can  be  maintained  on  .7 
pounds  of  digestible  protein  and  6.6  pounds  of  digestible  nitrogen- 
free  extract  for  each  one  thousand  pounds  of  live  weight.  If  more 
nutrients  than  these  are  supplied,  each  one  hundred  grams  of 
digestible  starch  may  cause  a  deposit  of  20  to  24  grams  of  fat  in 
the  body  of  the  ox. 

146.  Woll's  findings. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station, 4  Woll  ascer- 
tained by  correspondence  with  a  number  of  the  leading  dairymen 
of  America  the  composition  of  the  rations  which  they  had  used 
successfully  with  their  herds.     Eeports  were  received  from  the 
managers  of  128  herds  including  more  than  3,000  cows. 

1  See  various  articles,  Rural  New-Yorker,  1882. 

2  Kept.  1883-85. 

3  Ldw.  Vers.  Stat.,  44,  p.  257. 
*  Bui.  38;  Kept.  1894. 


Feeding  Tables  and  Standards. 


113 


Grouping  the  returns  by  sections,  and  calculating  the  dry  and 
digestible  matter  in  the  rations  reported,  the  following  table  was 
prepared: 

Rations  fed  by  128  American  dairymen  as  ascertained  by  Woll  — 
Wisconsin  Station. 


Where  ration  was 
fed. 

No.  of 
rations 
fed. 

Dry 

matter. 

Digestible  matter. 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Car- 
bohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Total. 

Eastern  states  

55 
56 
2 
6 
9 

Lbs. 

24.38 
24.64 

23.48 
29.28 
21.57 

Lbs. 

2.20 
2.08 
2.00 
3.05 
1.76 

Lbs. 

13.31 
13.37 
12.14 
14.58 
11.69 

Lbs. 

.77 
.72 
1.05 
.75 
.63 

Lbs. 

16.28 
16.17 
15.19 

18.38 
14.08 

1    6.8 
1    7.2 
1    7.2 
1    5.3 
1    7.4 

Middle  states  

Southern  states  
Western  states  
Canada      

In  these  averages  we  observe  a  wide  variation  in  the  nutrients 
fed,  the  minimum  falling  much  below  WolfTs  standard,  while  the 
maximum  materially  exceeds  it.  As  a  summary  report  of  the 
rations  fed  by  leading  American  dairymen,  this  table  is  valuable, 
representing  as  it  does  the  practice  of  so  many  experienced  feeders. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  unsatisfactory  because  in  many  cases  the 
feed  was  not  weighed,  the  figures  reported  being  estimates. 

147.  Studies  by  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Station.—  Atwater  and 
Phelps,  of  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Station, l  studied  in  person  the 
rations  used  by  a  number  of  dairymen  in  their  state.  Their  work 
included  weighing  and  sampling  the  feed  and  the  milk,  both  of 
which  were  analyzed  by  the  Station.  (681)  The  following  table 
presents  the  extremes  observed  in  these  studies: 

Minimum  and  maximum  rations  fed  by  Connecticut  dairymen  as  deter- 
mined by  Atwater  and  Phelps —  Connecticut  (Storrs}  Station. 


Organic 
matter. 

Digestible 
protein. 

Digestible 
ether  ex- 
tract. 

Digestible 
carbohy- 
drates. 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Minimum,  27  rations.... 
Maximum,  27  rations  ... 
Average  27  rations  ... 

Lbs. 

20.5 
33.7 
25.5 

Lbs. 

1.35 
3.48 
2.36 

Lbs. 

.56 
1.36 

.87 

Lbs. 

10.47 
18.25 
13.76 

1      4.5 
1    11.3 
1      6.7 

Kept.  1896. 


114 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


148.  Standard  rations  for  dairy  cows. —  From  the  reports  of  128 
American  dairymen  gathered  by  Woll,  that  investigator  deduces 
what  he  calls  the  American  ration  for  dairy  cows.  Based 
on  their  personal  study  of  dairy  herds  covering  three  winters 
as  just  noted,  Atwater  and  Phelps  of  the  Storrs  Station  offer  a 
tentative  standard.  Below  are  grouped  the  several  standards  for 
convenient  reference  by  the  student. 

American  and  German  feeding  standards  for  dairy  cows.  —  Digestible 
nutrients  per  day  per  1, 000  pounds  live  weight. 


Ration. 

Dry 

matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Wolff  original   (German) 
feeding  ration 

Lbs. 

24.0* 
24.5 
25.0* 

25.0 
27.0 
29.0 
32.0 

Lbs. 

2.5 
2.15 
2.5 

1.6 
2.0 
2.5 
3.3 

Lbs. 

12.5 
13.27 
12  to  13 

10.0 
11.0 
13.0 
13.0 

Lbs. 

0.4 
.74 
.5  to  .8 

0.3 
0.4 
0.5 
0.8 

1:5.4 
1:6.9 
1:5.6 

1:6.7 
1:6.0 
1:5.7 
1:4.5  . 

Woll  proposed  American 
ration  

Atwater    &    Phelps    pro- 
posed standard  

Wolff-Lehmanii    German 
ration 

I.  When  giving  11  Ibs.  of 
milk  daily  

II.  When  giving  16£  Ibs. 
of  milk  daily  

III.  When  giving  22  Ibs. 
of  milk  daily 

IV.  When  giving  27£  Ibs. 
of  milk  daily  

*  Organic  matter. 

Kiihn's1  standard  ration  for  a  thousand-pound  dairy  cow  under 

varying  conditions  is  as  follows: 

Pounds. 

Dry  matter 20-33.5 

Digestible  albuminoids 1.5-2.4 

Digestible  ether  extract 4r-  .7 

Digestible  nitrogen-free  extract,   assimilable  crude   fiber,   and 

amides 12  -  14 

Nutritive  ratio 1 :  5.5-8 

Reviewing  the  above,  it  is  found  that  WolPs  proposed  American 
dairy  ration  calls  for  less  protein  and  more  carbohydrates  and 
ether  extract  than  Wolffs,  the  nutritive  ratio  being  1 :  6.9  against 
1 :  5.4.  Atwater  and  Phelps'  proposed  standard  coincides  with 

1  Die  zweckmassigste  Ernahrung  des  Rindviehes,  1887,  p.  2-57. 


Feeding  Tables  and  Standards.  115 

Wolff's  in  protein,  while  the  digestible  carbohydrates  run  from 
12  to  13  pounds  and  the  fat  from  .5  to  .8  pounds.  The  Wolff- 
Lehmann  standard  gives  a  wide  range  according  to  the  milk  yield. 

149.  Concerning  Kuehn's  ration. —  Kiihn's  method  of  procedure 
in  compounding  a  ration  is  different  from  those  already  discussed. 
He  first  sets  forth  a  basal  ration  composed  principally  of  coarse 
forage  carrying  the  nutriment  required  by  the  cow  when  giving 
little  or  no  milk.  This  basal  ration  should  contain  1.5  to  1.7 
pounds  of  digestible  albuminoids  per  thousand  pounds  live  weight, 
and  may  exceed  this  with  animals  of  exceptional  capacity.  A 
like  proportion  of  non- nitrogenous  and  ether-extract  nutrients  go 
with  the  basal  ration.  To  this  is  added  an  amount  of  concen- 
trates sufficient  to  enable  the  cow  to  yield  the  best  returns. 
Animals  of  low  productive  capacity  are  fed  a  small  ration,  while 
those  capable  of  large  returns  are  liberally  supplied  with  nutri- 
ents. The  range  of  dry  matter  and  nutrients  for  cows  of  different 
capacities  is  given  in  the  table. 

Kiihn  considers  the  albuminoids  only,  as  available  for  protein 
nutrition,  and  places  the  amides  with  the  carbohydrates.  In  con- 
structing his  ration  he  recognizes  the  great  variability  of  feeding 
stuffs  as  to  composition,  and  holds  the  individuality  of  the  cow  as 
something  of  great  importance.  His  idea,  if  fully  carried  out, 
would  necessitate  a  chemical  analysis  of  all  the  different  feeding 
stuffs  used  each  season,  something  impracticable  under  ordinary 
conditions. 

I49a.  Fuel  value  of  rations. —  In  Article  61  the  following  fuel 
values  are  shown  for  the  several  nutrients  in  feeding  stuffs: 

Calories  in  one  pound. 

Protein 1,860 

Carbohydrates 1, 860 

Ether  extract 4,240 

It  has  been  proposed  that  these  Calorie  values  be  assigned  to 
the  digestible  nutrients  of  the  ration  for  the  purpose  of  simplify- 
ing the  results.  Atwater  writes  on  this  point:1  "This  use  of 
fuel  values  gives  a  means  of  simplifying  the  calculation  of  rations. 
It  will  be  understood  that  the  proportions  of  fats  and  carbohy- 
drates are  only  relative ;  in  other  words,  that  one  may  be  diniin- 

1  Kept,  of  Storrs  (Conn.)  Expt.  Sta.,  1890,  p.  179. 


116 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


ished  if  the  other  be  correspondingly  increased.  If  our  theories 
are  correct,  the  important  matter  is  to  provide  sufficient  protein 
and  sufficient  total  energy  without  varying  too  much  from  the 
most  desirable  relative  proportions  of  the  fats  and  carbohydrates.'  > 
The  Calories  in  the  second  trial  ration  for  the  dairy  cow 
reported  under  Article  136  are  determined  in  the  following 
manner:  The  digestible  protein  and  digestible  carbohydrates  of 
the  ration  are  added  together  and  the  sum  is  multiplied  by  1,860, 
the  fuel  value  of  one  pound  of  these  nutrients.  In  the  same 
manner  the  ether  extract  is  multiplied  by  4,240,  its  fuel  value. 
The  calculations  are  as  follows: 

In  ration. 


Protein               Carbohydrates 
Lbs.                           Lbs. 

Total 

Lbs. 

2.629         + 
Protein  and 
Carbohydrates 
Lbs. 

13.538         = 
Calories  in 
one  pound 

16.167 

Calories. 

16.167          X 

Ether  extract 

Lbs. 

1,860           = 

30,070 

.79              X 
Total 

4,240 
in  ration... 

3,350 

33.420 

Arranging  the  digestible  nutrients  and  Calories  for  the  standard 
ration  for  the  cow  when  giving  22  pounds  of  milk  daily,  and  for 
the  second  trial  ration  for  the  dairy  cow  as  calculated  above,  the 
following  table  is  derived: 


Digestible  nutrients. 

Calories. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Wolff-Lehmann  standard  for 
dairy  cow 

Lbs. 

2.5 
2.629 

Lbs. 

13.0 
13.538 

Lbs. 

.50 

.79 

30,950 
33,420 

Second  trial  ration  for  dairy 
cow  

By  the  table  we  learn  that  the  digestible  nutrients  in  the  stand- 
ard ration  for  the  cow  when  giving  22  pounds  of  milk  daily, 
would,  on  combustion,  yield  30,950  Calories,  while  the  second 
trial  ration  given  in  Article  136  yields  33,420  Calories,  an  excess 
above  the  standard  of  nearly  10  per  cent. 


Value  of  the  Different  Nutrients.  117 

While  it  is  important  from  a  scientific  standpoint  to  study  the 
fuel  value  of  rations,  such  use  in  compounding  them  for  practi- 
cal purposes  is  hardly  warranted,  since  a  statement  of  the  several 
nutrients  themselves  is  more  explicit  and  satisfactory. 

150.  Conclusions    relative    to    feeding    standards. —  The    vast 
amount  of  work  of  the  chemist  and  physiologist  as  shown  in  the 
several  tables  under  discussion  in  this  chapter  must  be  apparent 
to  every  student  who  has  followed  the  subject  to  this  point. 
When  one  learns  that  these  tables  after  all  are  not  what  they  first 
seem  as  to  exactness  and  reliability,  he  is  tempted  to  cast  them 
aside  as  of  no  value  in  the  conduct  of  his  feeding  operations.  Due 
reflection  will  check  such  a  course,  for  enormous  gain  has  already 
come  to  our  stock  interests  from  this  source.     Tables  of  chemical 
composition  and  feeding  standards  are  efforts  toward  a  desired 
end,  and  the  student  will  always  study  these  with  interest,  and 
the  prudent  feeder  will  never  ignore  them  in  his  care  of  live  stock. 

V.  Placing  Money  Values  on  the  Different  Nutrients  in  Feeding  Stuffs. 

151.  Character  of  the  inquiry. —  Since  commercial  fertilizers  are 
sold  on  their  content  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  it 
seems  possible  to  ascertain  the  values  of  the  several  common  feed- 
ing stuffs  from  their  content  of  digestible  protein,  carbohydrates 
and  ether  extract.   (420)   This  matter  takes  concrete  form  in  the 
questions  asked  at  farmers'    meetings  and  in  the  agricultural 
papers  as  to  the  relative  values  of  different  feeds;  for  example, 
the  value  of  a  ton  of  bran  or  oil  meal  when  corn  or  oats  are  worth 
a  certain  sum  per  bushel. 

152.  Studies  of  values. —  More  than  a  generation  ago  Wolff, 
studying  the   by-products  of  flouring   mills  and   oil   factories, 
based  calculations  on  the  current  prices  of  these  several  feeds,  and 
found  that,  allowing  the  nitrogen-free  extract  a  value  of  1,  protein 
had  a  relative  value  of  2.4,  and  ether  extract  3. 

Konig  placed  the  ratio  of  protein,  fat  and  nitrogen-free  extract 
at  2. 7  :  2.9  :  1.  The  German  Natural  History  Society,1  after 
investigating  the  matter,  concluded  that  the  average  values  of 
nutrients  of  the  leading  feeding  stuffs  of  Germany  were  as  3  :  3  : 1 

1  Landw.  Jahrb.  9,  p.  805. 


118 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


for  protein,  fat  and  nitrogen-free  extract,  respectively.  Several 
American  Stations  have  also  endeavored  to  ascertain  the  money 
value  of  concentrates  according  to  the  nutrients  they  contain,  with 
the  results  presented  in  the  table  below: 

Valuations  of  nutrients  in  American  concentrated  feeding  stuffs  — 
various  Experiment  Stations. 


Station. 

By 

Refer- 
ence. 

Value  in  cents  per 
pound. 

Ratios. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Car- 
bohy- 
drates. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Car- 
bohy- 
drates. 

Conn.... 
Conn.... 
Del  

Jenkins... 
Jenkins... 
Penny  
Huston  ... 
Voorhees.. 
Woll  
H.,B.&  J 

Kept.  1888 
Kept.  1890 
Kept.  1889 
Bui.  37  
Kept.  1891 
Kept.  1891 
Rept.  1895 

1.60 
1.40 
1.23 
1.00 
0.91 
1.52 
2.02 

4.2 
2.9 
4.45 
2.75 
5.91 
3.58 
—.19 

0.96 
1.40 
0.52 
0.63 
1.12 
0.47 
0.91 

1.7 
1.0 
2.4 
1.6 
0.8 
3.2 
2.2 

4.4 
2.1 
8.6 
4.4 
5.3 
7.6 
—.21 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

Ind  
N.  J  
Wis  
Vt 

The  data  in  the  above  table  were  secured  in  the  following 
manner:  The  market  values  of  all  the  concentrated  feeding  stuifs 
in  the  state  were  tabulated,  together  with  the  pounds  of  digestible 
protein,  carbohydrates  and  ether  extract  they  contained.  Then 
by  a  mathematical  process  the  supposed  relative  value  of  each  of 
the  nutrients  was  determined,  with  results  presented  in  the  table. 
In  Connecticut,  for  example,  it  was  found  that  taking  all  the 
common  concentrated  feeding  stuffs  offered  in  the  market  at  cur- 
rent values,  each  pound  of  digestible  protein  in  these  feeds  cost 
on  the  average  1.6  cents,  one  pound  of  digestible  fat  2.4  cents, 
and  a  pound  of  digestible  carbohydrates  .96  cents.  Hills,  Boyce 
and  Jones,  of  the  Vermont  Station,  calculating  the  commercial 
values  of  concentrates  for  their  state,  found  by  the  process  usually 
employed  that  digestible  fat  had  a  value  of  —  .19  cents,  or  that  it 
was  worth  less  than  nothing, —  an  absurdity  of  course.  Surprised 
at  this,  they  investigated  the  subject  in  a  broad  manner  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  method  employed  to  determine  these 
values  is  inaccurate  and  without  merit.  At  present  it  is  impos- 
sible to  state  the  value  of  one  feeding  stuff  in  terms  of  another 
from  calculations  based  upon  the  nutrients  contained  in  each. 


PART  II. 


FEEDING  STUFFS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY- PRODUCTS. 

I.  Indian  Corn  and  its  By-products. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

• 
Average  of  all  analyses  
Dent  corn 

Lbs. 

89.1 
89.4 
88.7 
91.2 
89.3 
84.9 
90.9 
,  91.8 
"89.6 
91.8 
94.3 
88.9 
91.9 
93.2 
34.6 

Lbs. 

7.9 
7.8 
8.0 
'  8.8 
0.4 
4.4 
7.4 
25.8 
9.0 
11.4 
26.7 
7.5 
30.3 
18.7 
5.5 

Lbs. 

66.7 
66.7 
66.2 
63.7 
52.5 
60.0 
59.8 
43.3 
61.2 
58.4 
38.8 
55.2 
35.3 
51.7 
21.7 

Lbs. 

4.3 
4.3 
4.3 
7.0 
0.3 
2.9 
4.6 
11.0 
6.2 
6.5 
12.4 
6.8 
14.5 
8.7 
2.3 

Lbs. 

18.2 
16.5 
16.8 
18.6 
5.0 
14.1 
16.3 
50.3 
26.5 
22.4 
49.8 
16.3 
57.7 
36.3 
9.8 

Lbs. 
7.0 

Lbs. 
4.0 

Flint  corn    .  . 

Sweet  corn  

Corn  cob  /  

.6 
5.7 
12.1 
3.3 
8.0 
7.0 
5.1 
9.8 

6.0 
4.7 
6.8 
0.5 
5.0 
5.2 
1.5 
4.9 

Corn  and  cob  meal 

Corn  bran 

Gluten  meal  

Germ  meal  

Starch,  refuse 

Grano-gluten  

Hominy  chops  

Glucose  meal  

Sugar  meal 

4.1 
1.0 

0.3 
1.0 

Starch  feed,  wet  

153.  General  characteristics. —  Indian  corn  is  the  best  relished 
grain  available  for  our  domestic  animals,  their  fondness  for  it 
being  remarkable.  A  possible  explanation  of  this  fact  may  lie 
in  the  large  amount  of  oil  which  the  corn  grain  carries;  again, 
on  mastication  corn  breaks  into  flinty,  nutty  particles,  and  is 


120  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

therefore  more  palatable  than  the  wheat  grain,  for  instance,  which 
on  crushing  and  mingling  with  saliva  turns  to  a  sticky  dough. 

154.  Races  of  corn. — The  races  of  corn  of  interest  to  stockmen 
are  embraced  under  the  terms  "Dent,"  "Flint/7  and  "Sweet." 
In  dent  corn  the  starchy  material  is  floury  in  character,  except  a 
small  portion  near  the  exterior,  which  is  corneous  or  flinty.     In 
flint  corn  most  of  the  starch  has  a  corneous  character,  which 
is  plainly  revealed  when  the  grain  is  cut  across.  Though  different 
in  appearance  the  corneous  portion  is  chemically  the  same  as  the 
floury  part.     Dent  and  flint  corns  are  practically  of  the  same 
chemical   composition.     The   flint  varieties  flourish    along  the 
northern  rim  of  the  corn  belt  with  its  cooler  climate;  dent  corn 
flourishes  where  a  higher  temperature  prevails.     By  planting  one 
variety  or  another,  corn  may  be  profitably  grown  in  every  state 
in  the  Union.     It  is  said  that  flint  corn  when  carried  from  its 
northern  home  to  southern  districts  gradually  changes  to  dent, 
while  under  reverse  conditions  dent  varieties  assume  the  char- 
acteristics of  flint  corn. 

It  is  often  asserted  that  yellow  corn  is  more  nutritious  than 
white,  and  sometimes  the  opposite  is  claimed.  There  is  nothing 
in  chemical  analysis  or  experience  to  warrant  either  assumption. 
It  is  doubtless  true  that  some  varieties  of  one  kind  are  superior 
to  certain  varieties  of  the  other,  but  no  uniform  rule  prevails. 

Sweet  corn  is  characterized  by  hard,  wrinkly  grains,  due  to 
shrinkage  in  drying  and  their  corneous  character.  The  table 
shows  that  sweet  corn  is  somewhat  richer  in  protein  than  corn  of 
other  races.  It  does  not  yield  quite  as  much  digestible  carbohy- 
drates, the  difference  being  more  than  made  up,  however,  by  the 
larger  content  of  fat  and  protein.  The  grain  of  sweet  corn  con- 
tains considerable  glucose  while  ripening,  and  this  adds  much  to 
its  palatability,  though  not  necessarily  to  the  nutritive  qualities, 
since  sugar  has  the  same  feeding  value  as  starch. 

155.  Corn  a  carbonaceous  food. —  The  leading  characteristic  of 
the  corn  grain  is  the  large  proportion  of  starchy  matter,  coupled 
with  the  rather  low  protein  content  and  a  low  percentage  of 
ash.     Compared  with  wheat,  corn  has  somewhat  less  carbohy- 
drates, less  protein,  but  more  oil.     Much  of  the  oil  and  protein  is 


Leading  Cereals  and  tlieir  By-products.  121 

gathered  in  and  about  the  corn  germ  lying  at  the  base  of  the 
kernel.  Eich  in  starch  and  oil,  the  function  of  corn  is  plainly 
to  produce  heat  and  fat  when  fed  to  farm  animals.  For  fattening 
purposes  no  other  grain  equals  corn.  Lacking  in  protein  and  ash, 
this  grain  is  not  well  suited  for  the  production  of  bone  and  mus- 
cle in  young  and  growing  animals.  See  Chapter  VI,  also  Arti- 
cle 421. 

156.  Corn  as  human  food. —  Considering  the  nutrition  it  carries 
and  the  market  price,  corn  is  by  far  the  cheapest  food  offered  to 
mankind  over  a  large  part  of  .the  civilized  world.     That  it  has 
not  been  more  generally  used  can  be  explained  only  in  part.     In 
the  first  place,  corn  meal  cannot  be  made  into  a  light,  porous  loaf, 
as  can  flour  from  the  wheat  grain.    Again,  when  reduced  to  meal 
on  grinding,  the  oil  of  the  grain,  and  especially  that  in  the  germ, 
soon  becomes  rancid,  and  the  meal  loses  its  palatability.     This 
trouble  is  remedied  in  part  by  processes  of  manufacture  in  which 
the  germ  is  removed. 

157.  Corn  cob. —  Corn  cobs  consist  largely  of  crude  fiber  and 
consequently  have  a  low  feeding  value.     When  corn  has  not 
fully  ripened,  more  nutriment  remains  in  the  cob,  which  is  then 
not  so  hard  and  woody.     If  deleterious  fermentations  have  not 
occurred,  such  cobs  are  readily  eaten  by  cattle.     Cob  goes  well 
with  the  grain  which  produces  it,  and  many  cattle  feeders  are 
satisfied  with  this  use  of  an  otherwise  waste  product,  drawing 
their  conclusions  from  experience  and  observation. 

158.  Corn  and  cob  meal. —  Sometimes  corn  together  with  the 
cob  which  bears  it   are   crushed   at  the  same  operation,  the 
resulting  product  being  called  "  corn  and  cob  meal.'7     Great  dif- 
ficulty is  experienced  in  reducing  the  cob  to  reasonable  fineness. 
If  left  coarse,  farm  animals  usually  push  the  pieces  of  cob  aside 
and  consume  only  the  mealj  if  ground  sufficiently  fine,  much 
power  is  required  in  the  reduction.     Difficulty  is  experienced  in 
finding  mills  suitable  for  this  purpose  and  in  providing  power 
sufficient  for  reducing  the  cobs.     Seasonably  fine  corn  and  cob 
meal  has  been  found  very  satisfactory  for  stock  feeding.     Experi- 
ments by  the  Paris  Omnibus  Company1  showed  that  corn  and  cob 

1  Pott,  Fiihling's  Landw.  Zeitung,  1893,  p.  483. 


122  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

meal  gave  better  returns  than  pure  corn  meal.  Stockmen  quite 
generally  report  favorably  on  its  use.  (539,  633,  849)  Since  the 
nutriment  in  the  corn  cob  is  not  large,  it  is  not  easy  to  understand 
why  this  compound  meets  with  general  favor,  especially  since  the 
cost  of  grinding  is  considerably  increased.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  pure  corn  meal  lies  heavy  in  the  animal's  stomach,  and 
while  in  this  condition  is  not  so  readily  attacked  by  the  juices  of 
digestion.  On  the  other  hand,  the  particles  of  cob  when  asso- 
ciated with  the  meal  cause  the  mass  to  lie  loose  in  the  stomach, 
in  condition  for  easy  digestive  action. 

159.  Weight  of  corn  and  cob. —  Aside  from  its  water  content, 
corn  shows  a  very  uniform  composition  for  different  regions  of  our 
country.     "While  the  moisture  in  old  corn  varies  little  from  12 
per  cent.,  it  may  reach  20  and  even  25  per  cent,  for  ear  com 
freshly  husked.     Corn  carrying  as  much  as  20  per  cent,  water  will 
not  keep  if  stored  in  any  considerable  quantity.     At  the  Kansas 
Agricultural  College,  Shelton1  placed  200  pounds  of  ear  corn, 
which  had  been  ripe  fully  six  weeks  before  it  was  husked,  in  a 
box  which  was  placed  in  a  crib  of  corn  with  corn  all  about  it.  In 
July,  eight  months  later,  the  corn  weighed  187.5  pounds,  showing 
a  shrinkage  of  6  per  cent. 

At  the  Illinois  Station, 2  Morrow  reports  three  years'  investi- 
gations as  showing  that  1,000  bushels  of  ear  corn,  medium 
varieties,  shrunk  115  bushels,  or  11.5  per  cent.,  between  the  time 
of  gathering  and  when  thoroughly  air-dry.  Corn  husked  Novem- 
ber 1  required  70  pounds  of  ears  of  early,  73  pounds  of  medium 
and  78  pounds  of  late  maturing  varieties  to  yield  one  bushel,  or 
56  pounds  of  shelled  corn. 

At  the  Kentucky  Station, 3  Scovell  found  that  corn  placed  in  a 
loft  November  17,  shrunk  from  7.4  to  18.3  per  cent,  in  weight. 

About  one-fifth  the  weight  of  well-dried  ear  corn  of  the  better 
varieties  consists  of  cob;  that  is,  70  pounds  of  well- dried  ear  corn 
will  yield  56  pounds  of  shelled  corn. 

160.  The  pellagra  corn  disease. —  Among  the  rural  population 
of  northern  Italy  there  occurs  a  peculiar,  fatal  disease  called 

1  Kept.  Prof.  Agr.,  1884. 
*  Bui.  13. 
a  Kept.  1889. 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products.  123 

"pellagra,"  which  has  been  traced  to  the  almost  exclusive  use  of 
corn  as  food  by  the  people.  The  poverty  of  the  corn  grain  in 
protein  and  ash  may  explain  in  some  measure  this  ailment. 
According  to  investigations,  the  disease  is  charged  by  some  to  the 
presence  of  mould  fungi.  Fua1  found  aspergillus  and  penicillium 
fungi  in  corn  meal  which  had  caused  pellagra,  and  was  able  to 
separate  from  it  several  poisonous  substances,  evidently  decom- 
position products. 2 

161.  Corn  by-products. —  The  use  of  corn  in  the  manufacture  of 
starch,  glucose,  beer,  spirits,  etc.,  has  grown  enormously  of  late, 
resulting  in  great  quantities  of  by-products  of  high  feeding  value 
for  stock.  In  most  of  the  processes  of  manufacture  the  first  step 
is  to  secure  the  starch  of  the  corn  grain  as  free  as  possible  from 
the  other  constituents.  The  composition  of  the  corn  grain  in  its 
different  parts  and  the  various  by-products  left  in  the  manufacture 
have  been  studied  by  Voorhees  at  the  New  Jersey  Station,3  a 
summary  of  his  findings  being  as  follows:  The  husk  or  skin 
which  covers  the  corn  kernel  consists  of  two  layers,  which  on 
removal  constitute  what  is  known  as  corn  bran;  this  contains 
practically  all  the  crude  fiber  of  the  corn  grain.  Below  the  husk 
or  skin  layer,  but  near  the  outside  of  the  grain,  comes  a  layer  of 
cells  rich  in  gluten  or  protein,  yellow  in  color,  and  not  readily 
separable  from  the  remainder  of  the  kernel.  Most  of  the  pro- 
tein of  the  corn  grain  lies  in  this  layer.  Near  the  base  of  the 
grain  is  the  germ,  which  also  contains  gluten,  and  is  particularly 
rich  in  oil  and  mineral  matters.  The  body  of  the  corn  grain 
proper  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  starch,  the  cells  being 
packed  to  repletion  therewith.  Voorhees  separated  100  grams  of 
corn  kernels  into  skin,  germ  and  starch  portions,  and  analyzing 
these  secured  the  results  presented  in  the  following  table: 

1  Pott.  Landw.  Futterm.,  1889,  p.  410,  foot  note. 

2  See  also  Konig,  Die  niensch.  Nahr.  u.  Genussm.,  II,  1893,  p.  474. 
"  Bui.  106. 


124 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Composition  of  the  several  parts  of  the  corn  grain  —  New  Jersey 

Station. 


Composition  of  the  water-free  material. 

Corn  and 

In  100 

Nutrients. 

Fertilizing  constit- 
uents. 

its  parts. 

corn. 

Water. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Car- 
bohy- 
drates. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Ether 
extract. 

Crude 
ash. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Original 

Per 
cent. 

Per 
cent. 

Per 

cent. 

Per 

cent. 

Per 
cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per 
cent. 

Per 
cent. 

Per 
cent. 

Per 
ct. 

corn  

100.0 

24.7 

12.6 

79.3 

2.0 

4.3 

1.7 

2.0 

0.8 

0.5 

Skin  

5.6 

15.3 

6.6 

75.4 

16.5 

1.6 

1.3 

1.1 

0.2 

0.4 

Germ  

10.2 

29.6 

21.7 

45.8 

2.9 

29.6 

11.1 

3.5 

6.2 

2.9 

Starchy 

part  

84.3 

24.7 

12.2 

85.6 

0.7 

1.5 

0.7 

2.0 

0.4 

0.2 

162.  What  the  table  shows. — The  germ,  which  constitutes  only 
about  10  per  cent,  of  the  kernel,  contains  65  per  cent,  of  the 
ether  extract,  61.5  per  cent,  of  the  mineral  matter,  71  per  cent, 
of  the  phosphoric  acid,  60  per  cent,  of  the  potash  and  16.3  per 
cent,  of  the  nitrogen  or  protein  of  the  whole  grain.    The  starchy 
portion  of  the  grain  carries  very  little  crude  fiber  or  ash,  but  is 
rich  in  carbohydrates  in  the  form  of  starch.     The  skin  yields 
most  of  the  crude  fiber,  the  whole  amount  being  small. 

163.  Starch  production. —  Briefly  described,  starch  is  obtained 
from  the  corn  grain  in  the  following  manner:    The  corn  is  gener- 
ally soaked  until  soft  and  then  ground  to  meal  in  running  water. 
The  hulls  or  husks  float  to  the  surface  and  are  removed;  the 
germs  sink  to  the  bottom,  and  the  water,  carrying  with  it  the 
gluten  and  starch,  passes  on  through  long  troughs,  in  which  the 
starch,  being  the  heavier  of  the  two,  settles  to  the  bottom  while 
the  gluten  floats  on.    The  various  by-products  thus  separated  are 
dried  and  sold,  either  separately  or   combined,  under  various 
names,  while  the  resulting  starch,  freed  from  these  substances,  is 
treated  in  different  ways  for  various  manufactured  products. 

164.  Of  what  the  by-products  consist. —  All  the  by-products 
combined  constitute  what  is  known  as  gluten  feed,  which  is  really 
the  corn  grain  less  the  starch  it  carries.     This  feed  is  rich  in 
ether  extract  and  protein,  and  is  well  suited  for  dairy  cows  and 
fattening  stock. 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products.  125 

Gluten  meal  does  not  contain  either  the  hull  or  germ,  and  is 
very  rich  in  ether  extract  and  protein.  Because  of  its  concen- 
tration it  should  always  be  diluted  or  extended  with  some  light 
material  like  wheat  bran  or  corn  bran.  (546,  637, 850)  Corn  bran 
consists  of  the  hulls  of  the  corn  grain,  and  is  relatively  low  in 
feeding  value.  Corn  germ  is  very  rich  in  protein  and  oil.  Corn 
oil  meal  and  corn  oil  cake  consist  of  the  pressed  germs  freed  from 
most  of  the  oil  they  carry,  and  are  rich  in  ether  extract  and  pro- 
tein. These  by-products  should  never  be  fed  in  large  quantity, 
but  mixed  with  other  grain  feeds.  Often  the  by-products  of  the 
factory  are  disposed  of  in  a  wet  condition,  and  are  then  styled 
1 '  wet  starch ' '  or  "  wet  glucose  feeds. ' J 

When  corn  is  manufactured  into  hominy  or  other  human  food 
articles,  the  skin  of  the  grain,  the  germ,  etc.,  constitute  by-prod- 
ucts more  or  less  similar  to  those  above  described.  Unfortunately 
for  the  purchaser  there  is  no  uniformity  in  the  composition  of 
these  by-products,  and  they  reach  the  trade  under  whatever 
names  the  manufacturers  are  pleased  to  place  upon  them,  thus 
preventing  any  general  treatment  of  the  subject. 

165.  Nitrogen  and  mineral  matter  in  corn. —  Compared  with 
grains  generally,  corn  is  not  rich  in  nitrogen  and  mineral  matter. 
Compared  even  with  hay  from  the  leguminous  plants,  e.  g.,  red 
clover  hay,  it  likewise  stands  low.  This  poverty  of  mineral 
matter  and  nitrogen  explains  in  some  measure  why  the  corn  crop 
is  not  so  exhausting  to  the  soil  as  many  others.  The  prudent 
feeder  in  using  corn  should  always  bear  in  mind  its  low  nitrogen 
and  mineral  content,  and  make  good  what  is  lacking  by  supplying 
the  wants  of  his  animals  from  other  sources.  In  choosing  between 
corn  and  other  feed,  when  purchasing  in  the  market,  he  should 
bear  in  mind  that  a  given  weight  of  this  grain  does  not  bring  to 
his  farm  as  much  fertility  as  do  many  other  feeding  stuffs.  In 
gluten  meal,  grano-gluten  and  cream  gluten,  the  nitrogen  reaches 
a  very  respectable  figure,  though  in  mineral  matter  the  standing 
is  still  low. 


126 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


II.    Wheat  and  its  By-products  in  Milling. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Wheat       

Lbs. 

89.5 
87.6 
87.6 
90.3 

88.1 
88.5 
87.7 
88.2 
87.9 
88.4 

Lbs. 

10.2 
8.9 
8.2 
13.5 
12.2 
12.9 
12.3 
12.2 
12.8 
9.8 

Lbs. 

69.2 
62.4 
62.7 
61.3 
39.2 
40.1 
37.1 
50.0 
53.0 
51.0 

Lbs. 

1.7 
0.9 
0.9 
2.0 
2.7 
3.4 
2.6 
3.8 
3.4 
2.2 

Lbs. 

23.6 
18.9 

28.9 
31.8 
26.7 

Lbs. 

7.9 
2.2 
5.6 
21.4 
28.9 

Lbs. 

5.0 
1.5 
3.5 
10.9 
16.1 

His^h-ajrade  flour  

Low-grade  flour 

Dark  feeding  flour 

W^heat  bran       

Wheat  bran,  spring  wheat 
Wheat  bran,  winter  wheat 
Wlieat  shorts 

28.2 
26.3 
24.4 

13.5 
9.5 
11.7 

5.9 
6.3 

8.4 

Wheat  middlings. 

Wheat  screenings 

166.  Wheat  grain. —  From  the  earliest  times  the  wheat  plant  has 
furnished  the  choicest  food  grain  for  man.  Wheat  has  probably 
never  been  degraded  to  stock-feeding  purposes  until  the  most 
recent  times.  During  the  last  decade,  owing  to  enormous  pro- 
duction, the  prices  for  this  grain  fell  until  they  approached  quite 
close  to  those  received  for  corn.  When  this  anomalous  and  dis- 
couraging situation  was  reached,  our  farmers  at  first  hesitated, 
but  with  a  sagacity  most  creditable  to  them  quickly  overcame 
their  long-held  and  not  unwarranted  prejudice  against  this  seem- 
ing perversion  of  nature  and  began  to  deal  out  wheat  in  large 
quantities  to  their  stock.  Coburn1  reports  that  in  Kansas,  during 
the  year  1893,  more  than  4,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  were  fed  to 
stock  by  the  farmers  of  that  state,  and  that  in  1894  the  amount 
so  disposed  of  reached  the  enormous  volume  of  8,500,000  bushels. 
Since  it  costs  more  to  produce  wheat  than  corn,  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  this  grain  will  never  become  a  common  feed  for 
stock,  but  the  feeder  should  know  its  value  both  absolute  and 
relative,  and  hold  himself  ready  to  make  use  of  it  whenever 
market  conditions  warrant. 

Compared  with  corn,  wheat  carries  a  higher  percentage  of 
starch,  less  ether  extract  and  more  protein.  Thus  it  more  clearly 

i  Kept.  Kan.  St.  Bd.  Agr.,  Sept.  30,  1894. 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products.  127 

furnishes  a  balanced  ration  for  farm  animals.  It  follows  that 
this  grain  meets  the  requirements  of  young  and  growing  animals 
better  than  corn,  a  statement  which  is  corroborated  by  the  experi- 
ence of  feeders.  Because  two  or  more  kinds  of  feed  should  always 
be  given  rather  than  one  only,  the  feeder  should  prize  wheat 
highly  for  furnishing  variety  to  his  usually  too  short  list  of  avail- 
able articles.  It  should  also  be  remembered  in  considering  prices 
that  a  bushel  of  wheat  weighs  seven  per  cent,  more  than  a  bushel 
of  corn. 

167.  Wheat  for  feeding. —  Wheat,  may  be  regarded  as  a  satis- 
factory feed  for  all  kinds  of  farm  stock,  in  the  hands  of  intelli- 
gent feeders.     Mixed  with  corn,  oats  or  bran  it  is  superior  to 
either  alone  for  work  horses.     For  fattening  cattle  and  dairy  cows 
it  not  only  furnishes  abundance  of  nutrients,  but  through  variety 
gives  edge  to  the  appetite.     When  on  a  visit  to  William  Wat- 
son, the  prince  of  American  feeders,  some  years  since,  the  writer 
found  him  feeding  whole  wheat  of  fine  quality  to  sheep  in  prep- 
aration for  a  fat-stock  show.     For  sheep  this  grain  alone  or  mixed 
with  others  may  be  fed  in  the  entire  or  whole   condition;   for 
other  stock  it  should  receive  some  form  of  preparation,  either 
grinding,  boiling  or  soaking.     During   mastication   wheat  and 
wheat  flour  adhere  to  the  gums,  forming  a  pasty  mass.     This  can 
be  prevented  by  mingling  bran,  corn  meal  or  some  such  substance 
with  the  wheat  or  flour.     Though  a  feed  of  great  palatability  and 
healthfulness,  wheat  does  not  equal  corn  for  fattening  purposes, 
yielding  perhaps  ten  per  cent,  less  returns.   (462,  543,  638-9, 
759-60,  850) 

168.  Character  of  flesh   from    wheat    feeding. —  Swift  &  Co. 
(Packers,  Chicago),  replying  to  an  inquiry  concerning  the  char- 
.acter  of  the  flesh  of  wheat  and  corn-fed  cattle  and  hogs,  wrote:1 

1  i  There  is  quite  a  perceptible  difference  between  wheat  and  corn- 
fed  hogs  and  cattle.  We  do  not  consider  that  wheat-fed  stock 
yields  as  well  as  corn- fed,  there  being  less  fat.  The  lean  meat  on 
wheat-fed  cattle  has  a  somewhat  brighter  red  than  on  corn-fed 
•cattle.  The  lean  meat  from  wheat-fed  hogs  is  very  nice,  but  as 
the  yield  is  not  so  good  there  is  no  particular  advantage  in  it  to 
1  Prairie  Fanner,  Oct.  20,  1894. 


128  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

packers;   but  we   consider  wheat-fed  stock  worth  as  much,  as 
corn-fed. " 

169.  Damaged   wheat. —  When  low  prices  prevail  for  wheat, 
only  the  best  grades  should  be  sold  by  the  farmer.     Shrunken 
and  damaged  grain  has  almost  no  market  value  at  such  times, 
while  for  feeding  purposes  it  may  be  nearly  or  quite  equal  to 
grain  which  commands  the  highest  price.     The  farmer  should 
carefully  grade  his  grain  at  home  and  sell  only  the  best. 

Sometimes  the  farmer  with  such  wheat  on  hand  hesitates  about 
feeding  it,  fearing  disastrous  results.  A  number  of  inquiries  a& 
to  the  advisability  of  feeding  poor  wheat  have  come  to  the  writer 
in  past  years,  and  he  has  always  recommended  that,  instead  of 
wasting  such  grain,  it  be  fed  in  moderate  quantities  mixed  with 
other  materials.  No  ill  results  have  ever  come  to  notice  from 
such  grain  when  fed  in  reasonable  quantity.  (763-4) 

170.  Composition  of  wheat  grain. — If  we  examine  the  wheat  grain 
we  find,  first  of  all,  three  membranous  coats  which  have  some- 
what the  character  of  straw,  and  show  on  analysis  about  the  same 
composition,  with  corresponding  feeding  value.     Beneath  these 
comes  the  fourth,  called  the  "aleurone  layer,77  which  is  rich  in 
protein,  and  which  during  the  process  of  milling  goes  with  the 
three  outer  layers  to  form  bran.     The  embryo  or  germ  of  the 
grain  is  rich  in  oil,  protein  and  mineral  matter.     The  remaining 
portion  of  the  grain  consists  of  thin- walled  cells,  all  packed  to 
repletion  with  starch  grains.     Associated  with  the  starch  are 
grains  of  protein  matter  called  gluten,  which  give  to  dough  from 
wheat  flour  that  tenacity  which  enables  it  to  retain  gas  bubbles, 
produced  by  yeast  fermentation,  during  baking,  thereby  yielding 
a  light,  porous  bread.     In  producing  flour  the  aim  of  the  miller  is 
to  secure  all  of  the  starch  and  gluten  possible,  avoiding  the  other 
constituents  of  the  grain.     He  avoids  incorporating  the  embryo 
or  germ  because,  though  rich  in  oil  and  protein,  it  turns  dark  on 
exposure  to  the  air  and  gives  the  flour  a  specked  appearance; 
further,  the  germ  makes  a  sticky  dough.     Nor  does  the  miller 
desire  the  aleurone  layer,  rich  though  it  is  in  protein,  for  flour 
containing  it  has  a  brown  tint.     The  amount  of  gluten  in  the 
wheat  grain  is  smallest  in  the  center  and  increases  toward  the 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products.  129 

outside.  Gluten  being  a  desirable  constituent  of  flour,  the  miller, 
for  this  reason  and  for  greater  yield,  aims  to  secure  all  of  the 
interior  content  of  the  grain  possible,  up  to  the  aleurone  layer 
itself.  In  modern  milling  the  wheat  grain  is  first  broken  into 
a  few  pieces,  and  these  are  gradually  reduced  to  flour  by  re- 
peated grinding  and  bolting.  Bran,  as  we  have  seen,  consists 
of  the  three  outer  coatings  of  the  wheat  grain  and  the  aleurone 
layer,  with  some  of  the  starchy  particles  adhering.  Shorts 
consist  of  re-ground  bran.  Middlings  contain  the  finer  bran 
particles  and  more  flour j  often  with  this  grade  there  are  incorpo- 
rated the  germs  of  the  wheat  grain.  The  better  grades  of  mid- 
dlings are  sometimes  used  for  human  food. 

In  the  manufacture  of  flour,  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-three 
per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  wheat  grain  remains  as  offal  avail- 
able for  stock  feeding.  Since  the  consumption  of  wheat  in  this 
country  is  about  4.5  bushels,  or  270  pounds,  for  each  person,  the 
by-products  of  this  grain  amount  to  nearly  70  pounds  per  capita, 
not  including  the  enormous  amount  resulting  from  the  wheat 
milled  for  export. 

171.  Feeding   bread. —  An  English  writer1  reports  that  a  cab 
proprietor  in  London  some  years  since  tried  the  experiment  of 
feeding  bread  to  horses,  with  economy  and  success,  the  only 
trouble  being  that  many  loaves  were  consumed  by  the  workmen. 
He  further  states  that  he  has  seen  the  coachmen  of  Paris  feeding 
brown  bread  to  their  horses,  and  that  this  food  is  given  to  horses 
in  countries  where  hay  is  dear.     To  prevent  stealing,  he  recom- 
mends that  straw  be  mixed  with  the  dough  before  baking. 

172.  Low-grade  flour. —  Our  table  shows  the  nutrients  in  low- 
grade  flour  to  vary  little  from  those  in  flour  of  the  higher  grade. 
Such  flour  can  rarely  be  used  with  profit  by  the  stockman  so  long 
as  still  lower  grades  of  by-products  are  obtainable  at  the  usual 
prices.     Prof.  Primrose  McConnell,   England,2    reports  having 
fed  American  low-grade  flour  for  six  months,  and  is  "  rather  sur- 
prised at  the  beneficial  results.77 

173.  Dark  feeding  flour. —  The  lowest  grade  of  flour,  known  as 
"dark  feeding  flour/7    "red  dog,77   etc.,   usually  contains  the 

1  The  Field,  England,  July  15,  1893. 

2  Agricultural  Gazette,  1893,  p.  351. 

9 


130  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

germs  of  the  wheat  grain,  and  because  of  this  it  is  rich  in  protein 
and  fat.  Such  flour  has  a  high  feeding  value,  especially  for 
growing  pigs,  hard-worked  horses  and  milch  cows.  Feeders 
should  watch  the  markets  for  this  brand,  and  may  be  able  at 
times  to  use  it  to  much  profit. 

174.  Middlings  and  shorts.—  " Middlings "  and  "shorts"  are 
terms  used  interchangeably  to  some  extent.     It  has  become  rather 
common  of  late  to  find  shorts  consisting  simply  of  ground-over 
bran,  almost  free  from  floury  particles,  with  the  sweepings  and 
dirt  of  the  mill  added.     Such  material  is  very  unsatisfactory  for 
stock  feeding  and  should  be  avoided. 

Middlings  are  especially  useful  for  feeding  pigs  and  horses, 
since  neither  of  these  animals  can  utilize  much  crude  fiber.  For 
horses  they  should  be  mixed  with  corn  meal,  oats  or  other  feed- 
ing stuffs,  as  pure  middlings  are  a  heavy  feed  and  liable  to  pro- 
duce colic.  For  pigs,  middlings  mixed  with  corn  meal  or  skim 
milk  serve  admirably  in  promoting  growth  and  building  healthy 
muscular  bodies.  (463,  641,  854) 

175.  Bran. —  Wheat  bran  carries,  as  we  have  seen,  a  consider- 
able amount  of  crude  fiber,  somewhat  resembling  straw  in  this 
particular.     It  differs  from  straw  in  that  the  inner  surface  of  the 
bran  flakes  is  made  up  of  the  aleurone  layer  of  the  wheat  grain, 
which  is  very  rich  in  protein  and  in  addition  carries  some  starch. 
Understanding  its  character  and  composition,  we  are  in  position  to 
make  the  best  use  of  this  abundant  by-product  in  feeding  farm 
stock.     With  some  horsemen  bran  is  fed  only  occasionally,  being 
supplied  once  or  twice  a  week  in  the  form  of  a  "mash,"  made 
by  scalding  with  hot  water,  in  which  case  it  is  a  mild  laxative 
and  very  beneficial.     Bran  has,  however,  become  a  common  feed 
in  many  well-managed  stables.    At  the  Stanford  horse  farm,  a  few 
years  since,  the  writer  found  it  being  fed  in  moderate  quantity 
to  horses  of  all   ages,  from  weanlings  to  stallions  and  brood 
mares.     Bran  is  quite  commonly  used  in  feeding  omnibus  and  cab 
horses.   (451)     Hard- worked  horses,  which  have  neither  the  time 
nor  energy  necessary  to  digest  feeds  with  much  bulk,  should  not 
receive  much  bran,  owing  to  its  coarse,  fibrous  character.    Grow- 
ing horses,  brood  mares  and  stallions  can  be  fed  bran  liberally 
with  excellent  results  because  of  the  large  amount  of  mineral 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products.  131 

matter  and  protein  it  contains,  its  volume  not  working  against  it 
with  these  animals.  In  steer  feeding  bran  serves  admirably  with 
corn  in  any  form.  Fed  with  this  grain  it  gives  bulk,  supplies 
protein,  and  keeps  the  animal  from  cloying,  as  it  may  when  long 
maintained  on  a  single  kind  of  feed,  such  as  corn.  The  stockman 
feeding  corn  to  his  steers  will  find  them  making  better  gains  and 
showing  better  condition  by  using  bran  for  one-third  of  the  con- 
centrates. The  light  character  of  the  bran  is  well  shown  in  cases 
of  over-feeding.  Though  a  horse  or  cow  may  be  gorged  with 
bran,  it  usually  suffers  no  marked  inconvenience  therefrom,  while 
an  over-feed  of  corn  or  cotton-seed  meal  may  produce  fatal 
gastric  disturbances. 

Bran  is  par  excellence  a  leading  feed  for  the  dairy  cow,  furnish- 
ing not  only  bulk,  a  desirable  quality  in  this  case,  but  protein  and 
ash  matter,  which  are  so  much  needed  in  the  formation  of  milk. 
As  a  complementary  food  to  corn  meal,  the  combination  of  bran 
and  that  grain  is  not  to  be  excelled.  For  young  pigs  bran  is  too 
coarse  and  straw-like,  (896)  and  middlings  should  be  substituted 
for  it.  For  brood  sows  and  older  animals  some  bran  may  be  fed 
with  profit,  and  may  prove  very  useful  if  the  remainder  of  the 
ration  is  in  concentrated  form,  for  volume  is  necessary  with  the 
feed  of  such  animals.  This  by-product  is  also  very  satisfactory 
in  the  sheep  yard,  being  relished  by  fattening  sheep,  breeding 
ewes  and  growing  lambs.  (463,  544,  640-42,  762,  855) 

176.  Fertilizing  ingredients. —  We  learn  from  the  table  that  the 
wheat  grain  is  somewhat  richer  in  nitrogen  and  mineral  matter 
than  corn.  The  by-products  of  wheat  in  milling  are  much  richer 
in  these  particulars  than  the  grain  from  which  they  are  derived. 
High-grade  flour  is  not  rich  in  nitrogen  or  mineral  matter.  Low- 
grade  flour  is  rich  in  nitrogen  but  low  in  mineral  matter.  Dark 
feeding  flour  is  rich  in  nitrogen  and  mineral  matter.  Bran  and 
shorts  carry  all  the  elements  of  fertility  in  large  quantity,  and  for 
this  reason  are  highly  appreciated  by  those  feeders  whose  interest 
reaches  beyond  their  cattle  to  the  lands  they  till.  (414)  When 
very  low  in  price,  bran  may  be  used  as  a  fertilizer  by  direct 
application  to  the  land,  but  such  perversion  should  not  be  toler- 
ated. It  should  be  first  fed  to  animals  and,  through  their  drop- 
pings, it  will  reach  the  land  almost  undiminished  in  fertility. 


132 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  great  Northwest  is  now  largely  devoted  to  wheat  growing. 
Here  the  farmers  are  gathering  into  the  wheat  grains  the  fertility 
which  has  been  accumnlating  for  ages.  (414)  Prudent  farmers 
and  stockmen  further  east,  knowing  of  the  fertilizing  ingredients 
in  the  by-prodncts  of  the  flouring  mills,  are  making  large  use 
of  them,  and  by  carefully  saving  the  droppings  from  their  cattle 
and  applying  them  to  the  land,  are  transferring  the  great  fertility 
of  the  Northwest  to  other  districts.  In  this  depletion  of  the  soil 
of  the  Northwest  by  almost  exclusive  wheat  growing,  and  in 
transferring  the  fertility  taken  up  by  this  crop  to  other  regions 
in  the  by-products  of  milling,  we  are  experiencing  one  of  the 
greatest  economic  changes  ever  witnessed  in  American  agriculture. 

III.  Eye  and  its  By-products. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Rve 

Lbs. 

88.4 
88.4 
90.7 

Lbs. 

9.9 
11.5 
11.9 

Lbs. 

67.6 
50.3 
45.1 

Lbs. 

1.1 
2.0 

1.6 

Lbs. 

17.6 
23.2 
18.4 

Lbs. 

8.2 
22.8 
12.6 

Lb°. 

5.4 
14.0 
8.1 

Rye  bran        

Rye  shorts     

The  table  shows  that  rye  does  not  differ  materially  from  wheat 
in  composition,  nor  are  its  by-products  chemically  dissimilar  from 
those  of  the  wheat  grain. 

177.  Rye  and  its  by-products  as  stock  feeds. —  Work  horses 
in  Germany  are  fed  rye  to  a  limited  extent, 1  each  animal  receiv- 
ing from  two  to  four  pounds  of  grain  daily  in  addition  to  oats  or 
other  concentrated  feed. 

According  to  Boggild, 2  rye  imparts  a  characteristic  flavor  to 
milk  and  may  cause  bitter  butter.  The  Scandinavian  Preserving 
Company  of  Copenhagen,  which  preserves  butter  by  sealing  in 
air-tight  cans  for  shipment  to  distant  countries,  prohibits  the 
feeding  of  rye  on  the  farms  of  its  patrons.  It  is  probable  that 
the  limited  use  of  rye  with  dairy  cows  will  prove  satisfactory. 


1  Pott,  Futterm.,  p.  395. 

2  Malkeribruget  i  Danmark,  1st  eel.,  p.  70. 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products. 


133 


Fjord's  experiments  with  pigs  show  that  rye  has  a  feeding 
value  about  equal  to  barley,  and  that  the  quality  of  pork  from 
this  grain  is  satisfactory.  (891)  Barley  and  rye  were  shown  to 
be  superior  to  rye  shorts.  (895)  The  pork  from  rye  shorts  was 
of  an  inferior  quality,  showing  more  shrinkage  and  being  softer 
than  that  from  rye  and  barley  mixed.  (466) 

The  use  of  rye  and  its  by-products  in  this  country  is  quite  lim- 
ited, and  in  consequence  there  is  little  data  concerning  this  grain 
for  feeding  purposes.  Since  it  is  used  quite  extensively  for  human 
food,  we  may  suppose  that  rye  is  not  inimical  to  animal  life,  and 
that  under  proper  limitations  it  will  prove  satisfactory  with  farm 
stock.  It  has  been  charged  that  since  ergot,  a  fungus  having 
medicinal  effects,  grows  on  rye  heads,  rye  may  therefore  prove 
dangerous  to  farm  animals  and  may  even  cause  abortion.  This 
charge  seems  unreasonable  when  we  reflect  upon  the  common  use 
of  this  grain  for  human  food  in  European  countries.  (283) 

IY.  Barley  and  its  By-products  in  Brewing. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
•pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Barley  

Lbs. 

89.1 
89.8 
24.3 
91.8 

Lbs. 

8.7 
18.6 
3.9 
15.7 

Lbs. 

65.6 
37.1 
9.3 
36.3 

Lbs. 

1.6 
1.7 
1.4 
5.1 

Lbs. 

15.1 
35.5 

8.9 
36.2 

Lbs. 

7.9 
14.3 
3.1 
10.3 

Lbs. 

4.8 
16.3 
0.5 
0.9 

Malt  sprouts  .  .  . 

Brewers7  grains,  wet 

Brewers'  grains,  dried  

178.  Characteristics. —  Barley  is  one  of  the  most  widely  culti- 
vated cereals,  growing  as  far  north  as  70  degrees  latitude  in  Lap- 
land near  North  Cape,  while  in  this  country  it  is  found  in  Arizona 
and  California  flourishing  beside  groves  of  the  lemon  and  orange. 
This  grain,  which  was  probably  the  chief  bread  plant  with  many 
ancient  nations,  is  now  devoted  almost  wholly  to  brewing  and 
stock  feeding.  *  The  use  of  barley  as  a  feed  for  animals  is  still 

1  For  a  history  of  the  barley  plant  and  many  other  interesting  facts  in 
relation  thereto,  see  Brewer's  Special  Report  on  the  Cereals.  10th  U.  8. 
Census. 


134  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

confined  almost  wholly  to  the  Pacific  slope,  where  corn  and  oats 
do  not  flourish  in  equal  degree.  The  use  of  barley,  most  certainly 
its  lower  grades,  will  become  more  common  with  our  stockmen 
when  its  value  and  special  advantages  are  better  known.  The 
table  shows  that  digestible  protein  is  higher  in  barley  than  in  oats, 
and  considerably  higher  than  in  corn.  The  carbohydrates  in  this 
grain  exceed  those  in  oats  and  fall  below  those  in  corn.  Barley 
has  less  oil  than  oats  or  corn. 

Eichardson  l  finds  that  barley  from  Dakota  contains  the  largest 
percentage  of  protein,  while  that  from  Oregon  shows  lowest. 
In  these  particulars  the  record  resembles  that  of  wheat  from 
the  same  regions.  According  to  the  same  author  the  hull  of  the 
barley  grain  averages  15.22  per  cent,  of  its  total  weight.  There 
are  varieties  of  barley  without  beards  and  still  others  without 
hulls,  both  grown  to  a  limited  extent  in  this  country.  Brewer 
found  a  hull-less  barley  grown  by  the  Pueblo  Indians  at  Taos, 
K.  M.,  for  bread  making,  which  was  very  nutritious,  carrying  a 
higher  per  cent,  of  protein  than  wheat.  Cooke,  of  the  Colorado 
Station, 2  reports  that  hull-less  barley  yields  profitable  crops  of 
grain  in  the  mountain  parks  of  that  state  at  an  elevation  of  7,000 
feet.  At  higher  altitudes  it  is  cut  for  hay,  yielding  a  roughage 
containing  sufficient  nutriment  to  alone  nourish  hard-worked 
horses.  In  feeding  trials  with  pigs,  hull-less  barley  gave  better 
returns  than  common  barley  or  corn.  The  Arabs  maintained 
their  horses  almost  exclusively  on  barley,  the  grain  being  admin- 
istered unground.  This  grain  is  fed  to  the  horse  with  excellent 
results  by  the  Berbers  in  northern  Africa. 3  Pott 4  regards  barley 
as  the  best  cereal  for  the  horse,  oats  only  excepted. 

Barley  is  a  common  feed  for  dairy  cows  in  north  Europe.  The 
Danes  sow  barley  and  oats  together  in  the  proportion  of  one  part 
of  barley  seed  to  two  of  oats.  The  mixed  grain  from  this  crop  is 
ground  previous  to  feeding,  and  is  regarded  as  the  best  for  dairy 
cows  and  other  stock.  Pott  states  that  barley  is  beneficial  in  its 
influence  on  the  quality  of  milk  and  butter.  This  grain  is 

i  Bui.  9,  Div.  of  Chem.,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  1886. 

*  Bui.  40. 

»Expt.  Sta.  Record,  V,  p.  626. 

4  Land w.  Futterm.,  p.  399. 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products.  135 

extensively  used  in  England  and  northern  Europe  for  pork  pro- 
duction, and  may  be  regarded  as  standing  at  the  head  of  all  grains 
for  producing  flesh  of  fine  quality  both  as  to  hardness  and  flavor. 
(894)  Strangely,  there  is  a  rather  widespread  shade  of  prejudice 
existing  against  the  use  of  barley  for  stock  feeding  in  this  country, 
some  even  asserting  that  it  is  poisonous  to  farm  stock.  Perhaps 
the  brewers,  wishing  to  control  the  entire  use  of  this  crop,  have 
furthered  the  prejudice.  This  charge  should  be  dismissed  as 
unworthy  of  intelligent  farmers,  for  the  experience  of  the  old 
world  is  entirely  against  it.  Barley  often  commands  a  low  price 
because  the  grains  have  been  tarnished  during  harvest  by  rain- 
fall or  foggy  weather.  Such  grain  has  lost  little  or  none  of  its 
nutrients,  though  for  the  brewer  its  value  may  have  been  much 
diminished.  The  wise  stockman  will  use  such  barley  for  feed 
rather  than  force  it  on  the  market  at  the  low  price  which  it  com- 
mands. (460,  857,  891) 

179.  Malting. —  To  appreciate  the  value  of  barley  by-products 
we  should  understand  their  origin.  In  malting,  the  grain  is  first 
steeped  in  wooden  or  stone  cisterns,  where  it  remains  until 
sufficiently  soft  to  be  easily  crushed  between  the  thumb  and 
finger  without  yielding  a  milky  juice.  The  grains  are  next 
spread  upon  a  frame  in  a  mass  about  twenty  inches  deep.  Here 
the  temperature  rises  to  about  150  degrees,  and  the  grains  begin 
to  germinate,  sending  out  tiny  sprouts.  In  the  third  step  the 
sprouting  barley  is  spread  upon  the  floor  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
trolling the  germination,  increasing  or  retarding  it  according  to 
circumstances. 

These  three  steps  are  all  for  the  single  purpose  of  converting 
the  starchy  matter  of  the  grain  into  soluble  dextrin  and  sugar, 
which  is  accomplished  by  a  natural  ferment  in  the  grain,  called 
diastase.  All  of  the  substance  of  the  barley  grain  which  goes 
into  the  sprouts  is  waste  to  the  malster,  and  yet  he  cannot  pro- 
duce malt  without  sprouting  the  grain ;  hence  the  close  watching 
and  sudden  checking  of  growth  when  that  point  is  reached.  In 
the  fourth  stage  the  grains  are  kiln-dried,  destroying  the  sprouts, 
which  are  next  separated  from  the  grain  by  sieves,  leaving  the 
dried  barley  grains  with  their  load  of  soluble  constituents.  Such 


136  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

grain  when  dried  is  known  as  malt,  and  the  dried  germs  are 
termed  malt  sprouts. 

ISO.  Brewers'  grains. —  In  the  manufacture  of  beer  the  brewer 
extracts  from  the  malt  the  soluble  dextrin  and  sugar.  The  liquor 
containing  this  is  called  wort,  which  upon  proper  fermentation 
and  further  treatment  constitutes  beer.  The  malt  grains,  freed 
from  the  dextrin  and  sugar,  while  in  wet  form  are  known  as  wet 
brewers'  grains,  a  by-product  of  great  volume  at  all  breweries. 
It  is  evident  from  this  presentation  that  the  brewer  who  uses  only 
the  starch  of  the  barley  grain  does  not  care  for  varieties  of  grain 
rich  in  protein,  but  rather  the  contrary.  According  to  Eichard- 
son,  Marcker  found  that  a  first-class  malting  barley  should  not 
carry  over  8.67  per  cent,  protein,  which  is  about  two-thirds  that 
found  in  American  grains.  The  requirements  of  the  stockman 
who  seeks  feeds  rich  in  protein  are  in  the  opposite  direction,  so 
that  the  poorest  barley  for  malting  may  be  the  best  for  feeding. 
Light- colored,  bright  barley  makes  beer  of  better  color  than  dark, 
weather-stained  grains;  hence  the  lower  price  paid  by  the  malster 
for  weather-stained  barley. 

181.  Malt  for  stock. —  Lawes  and  Gilbert, l  after  experimenting 
with  malt,  conclude:  "A  given  weight  of  barley  is  more  pro- 
ductive both  of  the  milk  of  cows  and  of  the  increase  in  live  weight 
of  fattening  animals  than  the  amount  of  malt  and  malt  dust 

(malt  sprouts)  that  would  be  produced  from  it 

Irrespective  of  economy,  malt  is  undoubtedly  a  very  good  food 
for  stock;  and  common  experience  seems  to  show  that  a  certain 
amount  of  it  is  beneficial  when  given  in  admixture,  and  in  change, 
with  other  food  to  young  or  weakly  animals,  or  in  making  up  for 
exhibition  or  sale;  that  is,  when  the  object  is  to  produce  a  par- 
ticular result  irrespective  of  the  economy  required  in  ordinary 
feeding." 

Occasionally  malt  slightly  injured  by  fire  or  other  cause  is  offered 
for  sale  at  a  low  price,  and,  knowing  its  value,  the  opportunity 
for  purchase  and  feeding  at  a  profit  should  not  be  lost  by  the 
watchful  stockman. 2 


1  Rothamsted  Memoirs,  Vol.  4. 

2  See  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1892. 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products.  137 

182.  Wet  brewers'  grains. —  These  grains  can  only  be  fed  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  brewery,  owing  to  the  large  amount  of  water  they 
carry.     This  fact  has  led  to  the  extensive  feeding  of  dairy  cows 
in  the  proximity  of  breweries,  which  are  generally  located  where 
there  is  a  large  demand  for  milk.     Because  a  certain  kind  of  city 
milk  supply  is  often  in  the  hands  of  ignorant  people  and  is  not 
properly  supervised  by  officials,  the  cows  in  some  instances  are 
crowded  into  dark  sheds  where  the  air  is  foul  and  the  animals 
enjoy  little  or  no  exercise  or  sunshine.     Because  the  wet  grains 
are  low  priced  and  easily  procured,  the  cows  are  wholly  or  almost 
entirely  maintained  upon  them.     The  drippings  from  the  wet 
grains  pass  downward  through  the  feed  boxes  and  under  the 
floors  of  the  stable,  where  fermentation  takes  place,  giving  rise  to 
bad  odors.     Often,  too,  the  grains  accumulate  in  the  stable  and 
are  not  fed  until  they  have  become  putrid.     In  view  of  all  these 
circumstances,  it  is  not  surprising  that  boards  of  health  have 
sometimes  reached  the  conclusion  that  wet  brewers'  grains  are  not 
a  suitable  feed  for  dairy  cows  under  any  circumstances,  and  have 
prohibited  the  sale  of  milk  from  cows  fed  upon  them. 

There  is  nothing  whatever  in  wet  brewers'  grains  which  is 
poisonous  or  deleterious  in  milk  production,  provided  they  are 
properly  fed  while  fresh.  The  trouble  arises  from  the  great 
abuse  of  a  most  excellent  feeding  material  which  is  of  such  char- 
acter that  it  can  easily  be  abused.  Supplied  in  reasonable 
quantity  while  fresh,  and  fed  in  water-tight  boxes  which  are 
kept  clean,  with  nutritious  hay  and  other  coarse  provender, 
there  is  no  better  feed  for  dairy  cows.  So  great  and  so  frequent, 
however,  are  the  dangers  from  their  abuse,  that  wet  brewers' 
grains  should  never  be  used  for  cows  yielding  milk  for  city 
supply  unless  they  are  fed  under  the  strict  supervision  of  com- 
petent officials.  If  this  cannot  be  done,  then  perhaps  it  is  best  to 
prohibit  their  use  altogether. 

183.  Dried  brewers'  grains. —  By  removing  the  excessive  moist- 
ure of  the  wet  grains  through  drying,   a  product  is  obtained 
which  is  concentrated  and  no  more  perishable  than  bran.     Dried 
brewers'  grains  are  rich  in  protein,  low  in  carbohydrates  and  rich, 
in  ether  extract.     They  are  most  excellent  feed  for  dairy  cows, 


138  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

ranking  with  bran  and  oil  meal  in  palatability  and  general  good 
effects. 

Sattig  l  reports  using  dried  brewers7  grains  and  finding  them  a 
cheap  winter  feed  for  horses,  the  energy  and  general  condition  of 
the  animals  being  pronounced  as  good  as  though  they  were  main- 
tained on  oats.  Trials  in  feeding  the  dried  grains  to  street- car 
horses  by  the  !New  Jersey  Station  gave  satisfactory  results,  with 
the  cost  of  the  ration  reduced  several  cents  per  day.  (461,  475) 

184.  Malt   sprouts. —  The  tiny  sprouts    originating  from  the 
barley  grain  in  the  process  of  malting  are  separated  from  the 
grains  after  they  have  dried,  by  sieving.     Minute  as  are  these 
sprouts,  they  accumulate  in  large  quantities,  and  malsters  can  fur- 
nish them  by  the  car-load  or  train-load.    The  table  shows  that  malt 
sprouts  carry  nearly  twenty  per  cent,  of  digestible  protein,  with 
the  carbohydrates  and  fat  running  low.     Unfortunately  this  feed 
is  not  much  relished  by  cattle,  and  for  this  reason  can  only  be  fed 
in  limited  quantity.     Malt  sprouts  absorb  a  large  quantity  of 
water  and  should  be  soaked  for  several  hours  before  feeding. 
Two  or  three  pounds  of  sprouts  can  be  profitably  fed  to  dairy  cows 
daily,  because  of  their  low  cost  and  the  high  fertility  they  carry. 
(473) 

185.  Fertilizing  constituents. —  The  barley  grain  itself  does  not 
differ  materially  from  the  other  cereals  in  fertilizing  components. 
Malt  sprouts  are  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.     In  some 
cases  sprouts  are  directly  applied  to  the  land  as  a  fertilizer,  but  if 
of  good  quality,  their  feeding  value  should  not  thus  be  lost.  Often 
they  can  be  purchased  at  a  lower  price  than  the  commercial  value 
of  the  fertility  they  contain,  so  that  they  cost  nothing  as  feed  if 
the  droppings  of  the  cattle  receiving  them  are  carefully  saved. 
Brewers'  grains  are  rich  in  nitrogen  and  phosphates,  but  very  low 
in  potash. 

*  Milch  Zeitung,  1886,  p.  185. 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products. 


139 


Y.   Oats  and  their  By-products. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Oats  

Lbs. 

89.0 
92.1 
92.3 
93.5 
90.6 

Lbs. 

9.2 
11.5 
12.5 
8.9 
1.3 

Lbs. 

47.3 
52.1 

46.9 
38.4 
40.1 

Lbs. 

4.2 

5.9 
2.8 
5.1 
0.6 

Lbs. 

20.6 
23.5 
17.2 
21.6 
5.2 

Lbs. 
8.2 

Lbs. 
6.2 

Out  meal                 

Oat  feed  or  shorts  

9.1 

5.s 

Oat  dust 

Oat  hulls  .*!. 

2.4 

5.2 

186.  Concerning  the  oat  grain. —  The  oat  crop  ranks  third  in 
importance  among  cereals  in  the  United  States.  Owing  to  the 
uncertainty  of  wheat  as  to  yield,  and  its  falling  price  during  recent 
years,  the  oat  crop  has  been  in  the  ascendency  and  has  greatly 
increased.  Though  primarily  used  as  feed  for  animals,  the  oat 
grain  now  holds  a  prominent  place  among  nutrients  for  man  in  both 
Europe  and  America.  No  grain  varies  so  widely  in  weight  per 
bushel  as  oats.  In  the  southern  portion  of  our  country  a  bushel  of 
oats  often  weighs  only  twenty  pounds,  while  on  the  Pacific  coast 
the  same  volume  may  weigh  fifty  pounds.  Southern  oat  grains 
have  an  inflated  husk  and  bear  an  awn  or  beard  which  causes 
the  grains  to  lie  loose  in  the  measure.  The  kernel  is  larger 
than  that  of  the  Northern  grain.  At  the  North  the  oat  grain  is- 
encased  in  a  compact  hull,  which  is  not  often  awned.  According 
to  Richardson, l  the  hulls  of  oats  are  from  twenty-four  to  forty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  grain,  the  average  being  about 
thirty  per  cent.  Richardson  states:  "  The  proportion  of  husk  to 
kernel  and  the  compactness  of  the  grain  prove  to  be  the  all-impor- 
tant factors,  and  the  weight  per  bushel  the  best  means  of  judging 
the  value  of  the  grain. " 

At  the  Ohio  Station, 2  Hickman,  studying  the  question  whether 
the  weight  per  bushel  for  oats  indicated  the  net  amount  of  kernels,, 
secured  these  results: 


1  Bui.  9,  Div.  of  Chemistry,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Washington. 

2  Bui.  57. 


140  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Weight  of  grain  Per  cent. 

Number  of  varieties  in  test.  per  bushel.  kernel. 

4  36  Ibs.  68 

3  34  Ibs.  67 

7  30  Ibs.  69 

Here  we  observe  that  the  lightest  oats  yielded  the  highest  per- 
centage weight  of  kernels  to  hull.  This  test  points  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  light  oats  are  not  necessarily  low  in  actual  nutriment, 
and  is  contrary  to  the  teaching  of  Eichardson. 

The  oat  grain  shows  a  higher  proportion  of  digestible  protein 
than  corn  or  wheat,  while  in  ether  extract  it  exceeds  wheat  and 
nearly  equals  corn.  With  a  lower  carbohydrate  content,  the 
nutritive  ratio  is  such  that  this  grain  contains  within  itself  quite 
a  well  balanced  ration  for  farm  animals. 

A  hull-less  variety  of  oats  is  occasionally  grown  in  this  country. 
For  poultry  and  swine  it  serves  a  useful  purpose,  but  for  other 
farm  stock,  varieties  of  oats  with  hulls  are  preferable. 

187.  New  oats  unfit  for  feeding. —  Storer  l  treats  of  this  question 
in  the  following  words:     u  As  all  horse  keepers  know,  new  oats 
are  unfit  to  be  given  to  working  horses.     They  loosen  the  bowels 
of  the  animals,  make  their  flesh  watery,  or  '  soften  them  down, J 
as  the  term  is;  i.  e.,  they  render  animals  apt  to  sweat  easily,  and,  in 
general,  put  them  ( out  of  condition. '     How  or  why  the  new  oats 
produce  these  effects  is  not  known;  but  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  after  harvest,  and  especially  after  cold  weather  has  set  in, 
the  oats  undergo  a  change  of  some  kind,  either  of  after-ripening 
or  of  fermentation,  and  are  thereafter  fit  to  be  fed  to  horses. 
Probably  this  difference  between  new  and  old  oats  depends  upon 
a  change  in  the  chemical  composition  of  some  one  peculiar,  and, 
so  to  say,  medicinal  constituent  of  the  oat  grain. " 

188.  A  stimulating  principle  in  oats. —  The  mettle  shown  by  the 
horse  nurtured  on  oats  has  led  to  the  supposition  that  this  grain 
contains  a  stimulating  principle.     In  1885  Norton  separated  an 
albuminoid  from  the  oat  grain  which  Johnston  named  "  avenine." 
Later  work  of  the  chemists  effectually  did  away  with  Johnston's 
albuminoid,  and  it  was  left  to  Sanson  2  to  announce  the  discovery 

1  Agriculture  in  Some  of  Ite  Relations  with  Chemistry,  Vol.  II. 


2  Comptes  Bendus  96,  I,  p.  75;  Biederm.  Centralbl.,  1884,  p.  20. 


istry,  vol. 
.,  1884,  p. 


Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products.  141 

of  a  stimulating  principle  in  the  seed  coats  of  the  oat  grain.  Tim 
was  supposed  to  be  an  alkaloid,  varying  in  quantity  in  different 
varieties  of  oats  and  also  with  soil,  climate,  etc.  Sanson  concludes, 
that  one  kilogram  (2.2  pounds)  of  oats  will  generally  contain  suf- 
ficient avenine  to  exert  a  stimulating  influence  on  the  motor  nerves 
of  the  horse  for  an  hour.  He  claims  that  grinding  and  crushing 
the  oats  destroys  or  weakens  the  principle,  for  which  reason 
ground  oats  are  not  as  effective  as  whole  oats.  Careful  investiga- 
tions by  later  chemists  have  failed  to  discover  any  characteristic 
alkaloid,  or  in  fact  any  nitrogenous  compound  of  indicated  char- 
acter. l  Thus  we  are  left  in  uncertainty  as  to  any  stimulating 
principle  in  oats.  Whether  found  or  not,  all  horsemen  will  still 
unite  in  holding  this  grain  without  a  peer  for  nurturing  their 
favorite  animals.  (456-9,  463,  465) 

Oats  are  usually  administered  to  horses  unground,  grinding 
being  necessary  only  for  animals  whose  mastication  is  imperfect, 
and  for  foals.  For  dairy  cows  there  is  no  better  grain  than  oats, 
but  the  use  of  oats  in  the  dairy  is  often  restricted  by  their  price. 
(642)  In  Denmark  oats  are  frequently  used  by  dairymen,  who 
sow  this  grain  with  barley,  feeding  the  two  in  combination.  (178) 
For  very  young  pigs  oats  should  be  ground  and  the  hulls  sieved 
out  because  they  are  too  woody.  For  pigs  more  or  less  mature, 
and  for  breeding  stock  especially,  some  oats,  ground  or  unground, 
are  always  in  place.  (858) 

189.  By-products. —  In  the  preparation  of  oat  meal  for  human 
food  several  by-products  result.  Oat  hulls  are  of  low  value,  as 
the  table  shows,  being  worth  little  more  than  the  same  weight  of 
wheat-  or  oat-  chaff.  Their  value  may  be  materially  greater  if 
broken  kernels  are  found  with  them.  Oat  hulls  being  produced 
in  large  quantities  at  the  oatmeal  mills  and  having  a  low  feeding 
value,  are  used  by  unscrupulous  feed  dealers  for  mixing  with 
corn  meal  and  other  feeding  stuffs,  the  mixture  being  represented 
to  prospective  purchasers  as  containing  ground  oats,  in  evidence 
of  which  are  the  numerous  hulls.  In  purchasing  ground  feeds, 
where  an  admixture  of  oats  is  claimed,  it  is  always  well  to 

*  Ldw.  Vers.  Sta.  36,  p.  299;  Kept.  Conn.  Sta.  1891,  p.  124;  Kept.  Me. 
Expt.  Sta.  1891,  p.  58,  corr. 


142  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

remember  this  possible  source  of  fraud  and  inspect  the  feed  to 
ascertain  if  the  oat  kernels  are  present  in  proper  proportion  with 
the  hulls. 

In  preparing  oatmeal,  after  the  grains  are  hulled  the  kernels 
are  freed  from  the  pencil  of  minute  hairs  found  at  one  end.  These 
hairs,  small  as  they  are,  accumulate  in  quantity  and  form  the  basis 
of  "  oat- dust  feed."  As  shown  by  the  table,  oat  dust  has  a  fair 
feeding  value,  and  is  useful,  provided  broken  oat  kernels  are  pres- 
ent and  the  mass  does  not  contain  too  much  of  the  sweepings 
from  the  mill.  "Oat  feed"  or  "oat  shorts"  are  terms  which, 
characterize  by-products  of  variable  composition;  they  may 
have  a  high  feeding  value,  as  shown  by  the  table.  (859)  Those 
in  position  to  secure  products  from  oatmeal  factories  will,  by 
studying  the  subject  and  watching  for  opportunities,  often  be 
able  to  secure  feeding  stuffs  of  high  value  at  relatively  low  prices. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 


MINOR    CEREALS,    OIL-BEARING    AND    LEGUMINOUS    SEEDS    AND 
THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS. 

I.  Rice  and  its  By-products. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Rice               

Lbs. 

87.6 
91.8 
90.3 
90.0 

Lbs. 

4.8 
1.6 
5.3 
9.0 

Lbs. 

72.2 
44.5 
45.1 
56.4 

Lbs. 

0.3 
0.6 
7.3 
6.5 

Lbs. 

10.8 
5.8 
7.1 
19.7 

Lbs. 

1.8 
1.7 
2.9 
26.7 

Lbs. 

0.9 
1.4 
2.4 
7.1 

Rice  hulls  

190.  Parts  of  the  rice  grain. —  The  rice  grain  is  not  directly  used 
for  stock  feeding,  but  its  by-products  from  the  mills  in  the  South 
are  available  in  considerable  quantity  for  that  purpose.    Accord- 
ing to  Boss, l  the  products  from  162  pounds  of  rough  rice  are  as 

follows: 

95  pounds  clean  rice,  all  grades. 

8  pounds  polish. 
30  pounds  bran. 
29  pounds  chaff,  straw,  trash,  dust,  etc. 

191.  By-products  of  rice. —  Eice  hulls  are  so  woody  that  they  are 
not  useful  for  feeding  purposes  except  in  periods  of  great  scarcity 
of  coarse  provender.     Eice  bran,  composed  of  the  outside  of  the 
rice  grain  and  more  or  less  of  the  germ,  is  of  moderate  feeding 
value  for  dairy  cows  and  pigs.     Eice  polish,  a  dust-like  powder, 
is  rich  in  nutritive  elements,  and  very  valuable  for  feeding  cows, 
pigs,  etc.     It  is  rich  in  both  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid,  and 
hence  a  valuable  manure  results  from  using  this  feed.     Accord- 

1  Bui.  24,  La.  Expt.  -Sta. 


144 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


ing  to  Pott, l  rice  meal  is  an  excellent  feed  for  milk  production. 
Nine  pounds  per  day  have  been  fed  to  cows  with  no  unfavorable 
results.  Eancid  rice  meal  has  a  bad  influence  on  milk  and  but- 
ter and  is  apt  to  disturb  the  digestion  of  the  cow.  (864) 

Eice  and  its  by-products  are  low  in  fertilizing  ingredients  with 
the  exception  of  rice  polish,  which  is  quite  rich  in  nitrogen  and 
phosphoric  acid. 

II.  Buckwheat  and  its  By-products. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituent*. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Buckwheat  

Lbs. 

87.4 
86.8 
89.5 
88.9 
87.3 

Lbs. 

7.7 
2.1 
7.4 
21.1 
22.0 

Lbs. 

49.2 
27.9 
30.4 
33.5 
33.4 

Lbs. 

1.8 
0.6 
1.9 
5.5 
5.4 

Lbs. 

14.4 
4.9 
36.4 

Lbs. 

4.4 
0.7 
17.8 

Lba. 

2.1 
5.2 

12.8 

Buckwheat  hulls     

Buckwheat  bran  

Buckwheat  shorts  

Buckwheat  middlings  

42.8 

21.9 

11.4 

192.  Concerning  the  buckwheat  grain. —  The  grain  of  the  buck- 
wheat plant,  rarely  used  as  stock  feed,  has  a  fair  feeding  value, 
its  nutrients  running  somewhat  lower  than  the -leading  cereals.  In 
certain  districts  large  quantities  of  buckwheat  by-products  are 
available  to  the  stockman,  who,  understanding  their  nature  and 
composition,  may  avail  himself  of  an  excellent  feed  at  com- 
paratively low  cost.  The  black,  woody  hulls  of  the  buckwheat 
grain  have  little  feeding  value,  and  should  be  used  only  when 
coarse  feeds  are  scarce  and  high  priced,  in  which  case  they 
may  serve  to  give  bulk  to  the  feed  of  animals  that  otherwise 
might  starve.  On  the  other  hand,  that  portion  of  the  buckwheat 
grain  immediately  inside  the  hull  which  forms  the  middlings,  is 
rich  in  protein  and  ether  extract,  and  has  a  high  feeding  value. 
The  miller,  aiming  to  sell  as  much  of  the  hulls  as  possible,  mixes 
them  with  the  middlings,  designating  this  compound  u  buck- 
wheat bran."  (862)  The  intelligent  purchaser,  knowing  that  the 
hulls  are  practically  worthless,  will  avoid  them  and  buy  only  the 

i  Futtermittel,  p.  551. 


Minor  Cereals,   Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         145 


floury  middlings.  Buckwheat  bran  and  middlings  are  nearly 
always  used  for  cow-feeding,  having  the  reputation  of  producing 
a  large  flow  of  milk.  It  has  been  charged  that  buckwheat  by- 
products make  a  white,  tallowy  butter  and  pork  of  a  low  quality. 
These  charges  are  probably  without  foundation,  *  when  the  feeds 
are  not  given  in  excess. 

The  feeder  may  make  liberal  use  of  the  floury  portions  of  the 
buckwheat  grain,  well  assured  that  they  are  valuable,  and  that 
usually  they  are  an  economical  feed. 

193.  Fertilizing  constituents. —  Buckwheat  middlings  are  rich 
in  fertility,  especially  in  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid,  and  this 
fact  should  enhance  their  value  in  the  estimation  of  the  farmer- 
stockman. 

TTT.  Sorghum  and  Millet  Seed. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Sorghum  seed  

Lbs. 

87.2 
85.9 
84.8 
86.0 

Lbs. 

7.0 
7.4 
7.8 
8.9 

Lbs. 

52.1 
48.3 
57.1 
45.0 

Lbs. 

3.1 
2.9 
2.7 
3.2 

Lbs. 

14.8 
16.3 

Lbs. 
8.1 

Lbs. 
4.2 

Kaffir  corn  

Millet  

20.4 

8.5 

3.6 

194.  Concerning  sorghum. —  According  to  Collier,2  nine-tenths 
of  the  natives  of  India  subsist  upon  the  grain  of  the  sorghum 
plant.  Sorghum  and  millet  are  the  common  cereal  plants  of  much 
of  China  and  Turkestan.  Sorghum  seed  is  extensively  used  for 
human  food  in  Africa  and  to  some  extent  in  the  West  Indies. 

The  sorghums  may  be  divided  into  two  races:  saccharine  and 
non-saccharine.  In  the  latter  the  plant-stems  are  pithy  and 
carry  little  or  no  sugar,  the  nutritive  substance  being  mostly 
deposited  in  the  numerous  seeds  of  the  ample  seed-head  crowning 
the  plant.  The  stems  of  saccharine  sorghums  contain  much 


1  Rept.  Ottawa,  Canada,  Expt.  Farms,  1895. 

2  Sorghum,  Its  Culture  and  Uses:  An  address  before  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  New  York,  1885. 

10 


146 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


sugar,  designed  primarily  for  conversion  into  starch  in  the  seed- 
grains.  In  recent  years  the  sorghums,  especially  the  non- sac- 
charine varieties,  have  come  rapidly  into  favor  in  the  semi -arid 
districts  of  the  Western  United  States,  ranging  from  Northwestern 
Texas  across  the  Indian  Territory  and  Kansas,  into  Nebraska  and 
South  Dakota.  The  sorghums  which  flourish  in  this  region  are 
known  as  Kaffir,  Egyptian  and  Jerusalem  corn.  According  to 
Coburn, l  Kansas  grew  215, 000  acres  of  Kaffir  and  Jerusalem  corn 
in  1895.  (274) 

195.  Yields  of  sorghum. —  Burtis2  reports  the  following  com- 
parative yields  of  Kaffir  and  Indian  corn  at  the  Kansas  Agricult- 
ural College: 

Yield  of  Kaffir  and  Indian  corn  —  Kansas  Agricultural  College. 


Year. 

Red  Kaffir  corn. 

Indian  corn. 

Grain  per 
acre, 
bushels. 

Stover 
per  acre, 
tons. 

Grain 
per  acre, 
bushels. 

Stover 
per  acre, 
tons. 

1889             .          

71.0 
19.0 
98.0 
50.0 
49.0 

9.0 
4.2 
6.0 
5.0 
5.3 
2  0 
1.5 

56.0 
22.0 
74.0 
30.0 
30.0 

2.5 
2.5 

3.0 
4.6 
1.8 
1.0 
1.6 

1890                      

1891      

1892    

1893  

1894 

1895 

43.1 

22.8 

Average  

55.0 

4.7 

39.1 

2.4 

By  the  table  we  learn  that  at  Manhattan,  which  is  in  the  corn 
belt  of  Kansas,  Kaffir  corn  leads  the  great  American  cereal  in 
yield. 

The  seed  is  sown  either  broadcast,  in  which  case  it  is  devoted 
to  forage,  or  in  drills,  when  it  is  cultivated  like  Indian  corn.  The 
seed  of  Kaffir  corn  weighs  from  fifty-six  to  sixty  pounds  to  the 
bushel.  Since  this  grain  is  used  by  millions  of  human  beings  for 
food,  we  can  readily  believe  it  valuable  for  feeding  farm  stock. 
Enthusiasts  declare  it  fully  equal  to  Indian  corn  for  stock  feeding, 
but  this  statement  seems  overdrawn.  Probably  Kaffir  corn  ranks 

1  Kept.  Kan.  St.  Bd.  Agr.,  Dec.  1895. 

2  Qr.  Kept.  Kan.  Bd.  Agr.,  Mar.  1896. 


Minor  Cereals,   Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         147 

a  little  below  barley  in  feeding  value.  Sorghum  culture  is  partic- 
ularly recommended  in  warm  districts  where  Indian  corn  may 
fall  short  of  giving  fair  returns  for  lack  of  sufficient  moisture  in 
the  soil,  and  where  hot;  drying  winds  are  common.  In  the  corn 
districts  proper,  useful  as  the  sorghums  are,  they  will  never  seri- 
ously rival  Indian  corn.  (547-8,  861) 

196.  Broom-corn  seed. — In  districts  where  broom  corn  is  grown, 
large  quantities  of  the  seed  are  annually  wasted  through  ignorance 
and  carelessness  of  the  growers.     Broom- corn  heads  are  cut  before 
the  seed  has  fully  matured,  and  as  the  latter  is  usually  removed 
before  it  has  had  time  to  become  thoroughly  dry,  it  easily  ferments 
when  left  in  heaps,  and  is  wasted.     With  a  little  care  in  drying 
the  seed  may  be  saved  as  is  other  grain,  or  it  may  be  kept  as  silage, 
either  in  a  regular  silo  or  simply  covered  with  earth,  as  was  shown 
to  be  practicable  by  Miles  l  years  ago.     Broom- corn  seed  will 
prove  satisfactory  for  feeding  cattle  if  used  in  reasonable  quantity. 

197.  The  saccharine  sorghums. —  At  the  Wisconsin  University2 
the  writer,  experimenting  with  sorghum  for  the  manufacture  of 
sugar,  secured  seed  as  a  by-product  at  the  rate  of  from  twenty-seven 
to  thirty-two  bushels  per  acre;  this  seed  weighed  fifty-one  pounds 
per  bushel. 

At  the  New  Jersey  Station,  Cook  3  secured  seed  at  the  rate  of 
1,300  pounds  per  acre  from  sorghum  cane  grown  for  syrup. 

Concerning  the  statement  that  sorghum  seed  contains  tannin,  a 
bitter  principle  which  renders  the  seed  unfit  for  feeding  stock, 
Wiley  writes:  4  "  A  careful  examination  of  sorghum  seed  has 
failed  to  discover  the  presence  of  tannin,  and  the  only  possible 
injurious  principle  which  it  can  contain  is  the  coloring  matter  of 
the  glumes."  (643) 

198.  Millet. —  Millet  is  grown  in  South  Europe,  parts  of  Asia 
and  in  Africa  for  human  as  well  as  for  animal  food.     At  the  Mas- 
sachusetts (Hatch)  Station,5  Brooks  grew  37.2  bushels  of  millet 
seed,  weighing  forty-seven  pounds  per  bushel,  on  a  half  acre  of 
land.     Different  varieties  yielded  as  follows:  6     Panicum   ital- 

1  Country  Gentleman,  March  23,  1876. 

2  Rept.  on  Amber  Cane  and  the  Ensilage  of  Fodders,  1881. 

3  Kept,  1885. 

*  Rept.  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  1889. 
5  Bui.  18.  6  Rept.  1892. 


148 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


icum,  55  bushels;  Panicum  cms  galli,  69  bushels,  and  Panicum 
miliaceum,  28  bushels  per  acre.  Brooks  concludes  that  millet 
cannot  successfully  compete  with  Indian  corn  under  conditions 
prevailing  in  Massachusetts.  Millet  seed  resembles  oats  in  com- 
position, but  we  cannot  point  to  experiments  which  definitely  settle 
the  feeding  value  of  the  several  varieties. 

Stewart1  writes:  "  Millet  meal  is  a  highly  appropriate  food 
for  young  or  mature  horses.  It  has  a  higher  proportion  of  albu- 
minoids and  a  higher  nutritive  ratio  than  oats,  but  having  less 
oil.  It  is  found,  when  well  ground  (and  it  cannot  properly  be 
fed  without  grinding),  to  be  one  of  the  best  rations  for  horses, 
being  particularly  adapted  to  the  development  of  muscular 
strength." 

The  culture  of  sorghums  and  millets  for  grain  and  forage  is  to 
be  recommended  for  the  warmer  districts  of  the  United  States, 
where  there  is  scant  rainfall  and  where  hot,  drying  winds  prevail. 
Where  Indian  corn  flourishes,  these  crops  are  not  able  to  compete 
with  that  great  cereal.  (272) 

IV.   Oil-bearing  Seeds  and  their  By-products. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Flax  seed  

Lbs. 

90.8 
90.8 
89.9 
89.7 
91.8 
88.9 
89.7 
89.6 
92.5 
91.8 
89.3 
90.0 

Lbs. 

20.6 
29.3 
28.2 
12.5 
37.2 
0.3 
15.6 
16.0 
12.1 
31.2 
42.9 
25.2 

Lbs. 

17.1 
32.7 
40.1 
30.0 
16.9 
33.1 
38.3 
52.6 
20.8 
19.6 
22.8 
23.7 

Lbs. 

29.0 
7.0 
2.8 
17.3 
12.2 
1.7 
10.5 
9.0 
29.0 
12.8 
6.9 
7.5 

Lbs. 

36.1 
54.3 

57.8 
31.3 
67.9 
6.9 
32.8 
26.9 
22.8 
55.5 
75.6 
49.6 

Lbs. 

13.9 
16.6 
18.3 
12.7 
28.8 
2.5 
16.0 
11.0 
12.2 
21.5 
13.1 
20.0 

Lbs. 

10.3 
13.7 
13.9 
11.7 
8.7 
10.2 
24.0 
5.0 
5.6 
11.7 
15.0 
13.0 

Linseed  meal,  old  process.. 
Linseed  meal,  new  process. 
Cotton  seed    

Cotton-seed  hulls  

Cocoaiiut  meal  .        

Palnmut  meal  

Sunflower  seed  

Peanut  meal 

Rape-seed  meal        .... 

199.  Concerning    oil-bearing    seeds. —  The  leading  oil-bearing 
seeds  in  this  country  are  from  the  flax  and  cotton  plants.    Others 
1  Feeding  Animals. 


Minor  Cereals,   Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         149 

of  much  importance  in  foreign  countries  are  little  known  here. 
Flax  grain  carries  a  considerable  quantity  of  protein  with  an 
excess  of  oil.  There  is  no  starch  in  well-matured  flax  seeds.  On 
account  of  the  high  commercial  value  of  the  oil,  flax  seed  is  rarely 
used  as  a  feed. 

At  the  Iowa  Station, l  Wilson  fed  ground  flax  seed  with  skim 
milk  to  calves  with  excellent  results.  (519)  When  flax  seed  was 
fed  to  cows  at  the  rate  of  eight  pounds  per  head  daily,  no  ill 
results  followed  such  heavy  feeding.  Some  feeders  claim  that 
flax  seed  should  only  be  fed  in  a  very  limited  quantity,  since  it 
contains  a  cathartic  principle. 

200.  Oil  cake  and  oil  meal. — At  the  oil  mills,  after  crushing  the 
seeds,  the  oil  is  removed  by  one  of  two  processes.     In  the  first  the 
crushed  seed  is  heated  and  placed  between  cloths  or  in  sacks  which 
are  piled  one  on  another  and  the  mass  subjected  to  hydraulic  pres- 
sure, to  extract  the  oil.  The  residue  after  pressure,  stripped  of  the 
wrappings,  appears  as  hard  slabs  or  cakes,  about  an  inch  thick  by 
one  foot  in  width  and  two  in  length.     These  slabs  constitute  the 
oil  cakes  of  commerce,  and  in  the  entire  form  are  shipped  abroad 
for  use  by  farmers  in  other  countries.     The  unbroken  cake  is 
preferred  for  shipping,  as  it  is  the  most  condensed,  and  because 
the  foreign  feeder,  suspicious  of  adulteration,  knows  that  such 
cakes  are  always  as  pure  as  the  seed  from  which  they  were  pro- 
duced.    "When  required  for  feeding,  the  cake  is  reduced  to  the 
size  of  small  hickory  nuts  or  hazel  nuts  in  a  mill,  the  material 
being  known  as  "  nut  cake."     In  this  country  the  cake  is  usually 
ground  to  a  meal  at  the  factory  and  is  then  shipped  in  bags. 
"Where  the  oil  is  secured  by  direct  pressure  from  the  ground  flax 
seed  as  described  above,  the  by-product  is  known  as  t  i  old  process ' ' 
cake  or  oil  meal. 

201.  New-process  oil  meal. —  In  the  manufacture  of  new-process 
oil  meal,  according  to  Woll, 2  the  seed  is  crushed  and  heated  to 
165°  Fahr.,  as  in  the  production  of  old-process  meal.    The  crushed 
mass  while  warm  is  placed  in  large  vertical  cylinders  or  percola- 
tors, and  over  it  naphtha,   a  volatile  petroleum  compound,  is 

*  Bills.  14,  16,  19,  35. 
2  Kept.  Wis.  Sta.  1895. 


150  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

poured  and  allowed  to  drain  out  at  the  bottom  of  the  cylinder. 
Naphtha  dissolves  the  oil  from  the  ground  flax  seed,  being  repeat- 
edly added  until  nearly  all  the  oil  is  extracted.  After  this  has  been 
accomplished,  steam  is  let  into  the  percolator,  and  the  naphtha 
which  did  not  drain  off  is  gradually  driven  out  of  the  mass  as 
vapor.  This  is  so  effectively  done  that  no  smell  of  naphtha  is 
noticeable  in  the  residue.  From  the  percolators,  after  steaming, 
the  meal  is  transferred  to  driers,  from  which  it  is  elevated  to  the 
meal  bins.  This  by-product  is  known  as  "  new-process ' '  oil  meal. 

202.  The  swelling  process. —  Woll1  gives  the  following  simple 
method  of  ascertaining  whether  oil  meal  is  new-  or  old-  process: 
"  Pulverize  a  small  quantity  of  the  meal  and  put  a  level  table- 
spoonful  of  it  into  a  tumbler;   then  add  ten  tablespoonfuls  of 
boiling  hot  water  to  the  meal,  stir  thoroughly  and  leave  to  settle. 
If  the  meal  is  new-process  meal,  it  will  settle  in  the  course  of  an 
hour  and  will  leave  about  half  of  the  water  clear  on  top."     Old- 
process  meal  will  remain  jelly-like. 

203.  Adulteration  of  oil  meal. —  Adulteration  of  oil  meal  may 
be  brought  about  through  using  immature  flax  seed  or  that  con- 
taining weed  seed,  or,  finally,  foreign  matter  may  be  added  to  the 
meal  after  grinding  the  cake.     Immature  flax  seed  contains  starch, 
while  fully  mature  seed  contains  none.     Weed  seeds  contain  much 
starch.     If  then  starch  grains  are  found  in  linseed  meal,  it  is 
because  of  immature  flax-seed  grains,  weed  seeds,  or  both. 

The  manufacturer  of  oil  meal  endeavors  to  have  the  flax-seed 
as  free  from  foreign  substances  as  possible,  for  the  reason  that 
such  foreign  matter  absorbs  and  holds  oil,  thereby  reducing  the 
amount  available.  Any  serious  adulterations  of  oil  meal  must 
therefore  occur  through  the  direct  addition  of  foreign  material  to 
the  meal  after  the  oil  has  been  extracted.  Woll  found  no  oil  meals 
purposely  adulterated,  though  he  examined  many  samples. 

204.  Relative  value  of  old-  and  new-  process  oil  meal. —  Woll, 2 
conducting  artificial  digestion  trials  with  twelve  samples  of  old- 
process  and  nine  samples  of  new-process  oil  meal,  found  that  94.3 
per  cent,  of  the  protein  in  old-process  and  84.1  per  cent,  of  pro- 

1  Loc.  cit. 

2  Loc.  cit. 


Minor  Cereals,   Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         151 


tein  in  the  new-process  meal  were  digestible.  The  lower  digesti- 
bility of  the  new-process  meal  is  doubtless  due  to  the  action  of 
steam  used  in  driving  off  the  naphtha,  as  heat  has  been  found  to 
lower  the  digestibility  of  nitrogenous  compounds  in  food  sub- 
stances generally.  Because  of  the  more  complete  extraction  of  the 
oil,  new-process  meal  contains  more  protein  than  does  old-process. 
Because  of  the  lower  digestibility  of  new-process  meal,  a  given 
weight  of  this  feed  contains  somewhat  less  digestible  protein  than 
does  old-process  meal.  Old-process  meal  is  poorer  in  carbohy- 
drates but  considerably  richer  in  oil  than  new-process. 

At  the  Iowa  Station,1  Wilson  and  Eeed,  testing  the  relative 
merits  of  the  two  meals  with  fattening  cattle,  found  that  new-pro- 
cess gave  equally  as  good  returns  as  old -process  meal  when  fed 
in  connection  with  other  fodders. 

205.  Value  of  oil  in  oil  cake. —  Russian  flax-seed  oil  cake  carries 
more  oil  than  does  American.  To  decide  the  merits  of  oil  cake  con- 
taining much  or  little  oil,  tests  were  conducted  in  England  by 
Cooke2  under  direction  of  the  Norfolk  Chamber  of  Agriculture, 
with  Sir  John  B.  Lawes  and  Dr.  Voelcker  as  counselors.  Sixty 
sheep  were  divided  into  two  lots  of  thirty  each;  to  the  first  lot  was 
given  cake  containing  six  to  seven  per  cent,  oil,  while  the  second 
lot  received  cake  containing  from  fifteen  to  sixteen  per  cent.  oil. 
The  by-fodders  were  the  same  with  both  lots. 

Eesults  of  feeding  linseed  cake,  low  in  oil  and  rich  in  oil,  to  sheep  — 
Cooke j  Norfolk,  England. 


Low-oil  cake. 

High-oil  cake. 

Number  of  sheep 

30 

30 

Length  of  experiment  weeks 

16 

16 

Feed  consumed  per  week. 
Linseed  cake,  pounds  

4.8 

4.8 

Clover  hay  chaff  pounds 

4  8 

4  8 

Swedes  (turnips),  pounds 

87.8 

88  0 

Gain  in  weight. 
Per  head  during  experiment,  pounds 
Increase  per  head,  per  week,  pounds 

33.5 
2.1 

38.3 
2.4 

1  Bui.  33. 

2  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1889. 


152  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

We  observe  that  the  cake  rich  in  oil  produced  nearly  five 
pounds  more  gain  per  head  than  cake  low  in  oil.  The  sheep 
receiving  the  cake  rich  in  oil  brought  a  higher  price  per  pound 
than  the  others.  The  conclusion  was  that,  "  weight  for  weight, 
linseed  oil  to  the  extent  of  fifteen  per  cent,  in  a  cake  has  a  much 
higher  feeding  value  than  have  the  other  constituents  of  a  linseed 
cake  which  in  the  absence  of  the  oil  would  replace  it." 

206.  OH  cake  or  oil  meal  as  a  feeding  stuff. —  There  is  no  more 
healthful  feed  than  oil  meal  or  oil  cake.  Its  general  effect  is  to 
place  the  animal  in  fine  condition,  with  a  pliable  skin,  an  oily, 
sleek  coat  and  a  good  quality  of  flesh  upon  handling.  No  other 
farm  feed  has  such  a  general  beneficial  effect  on  the  digestive 
tract  as  has  oil  meal,  and  the  feeder  should  always  have  a  quantity 
on  hand  to  deal  out  to  his  stock  whenever  judgment  directs  its 
use.  A  small  quantity  of  oil  meal  may  be  fed  to  horses,  but  as  it 
is  fattening  and  does  not  make  hard  flesh,  the  allowance  should 
always  be  limited.  (472)  It  is  with  fattening  steers  and  with 
sheep  that  oil  meal  shows  at  its  best.  For  steers  two  or  three 
pounds  can  be  given  daily  in  connection  with  other  feeds.  Larger 
amounts  may  be  used  if  prices  permit. 

Clay1  reports  starting  yearling  steers  on  grass  with  two  or  three 
pounds  of  oil  meal  daily  in  addition  to  oat  bran.  Gradually  the 
amount  of  meal  was  increased,  until  in  the  fall  twelve  pounds  of 
meal  were  fed  daily  to  each  steer  with  satisfactory  returns.  (545, 
553) 

Yoelcker, 2  conducting  experiments  with  sheep  at  Woburn, 
England,  writes:  a  From  these  results  it  must  be  concluded  that 
it  is  more  profitable  to  feed  sheep  on  linseed  cake  alone  than  on 
one-half  linseed  cake  and  half  barley." 

Owing  to  the  price  of  oil  meal,  it  should  generally  constitute 
not  more  than  one- third  of  the  grain  ration,  but  to  this  limit  it  has 
a  high  value  because  of  its  helpful  effect  on  the  digestive  tract, 
and  in  stimulating  through  its  palatability  a  heavy  consumption 
of  the  feeds  with  which  it  is  mixed.  For  growing  calves,  oil  meal 
is  of  great  utility  and  has  already  come  into  general  use  with  pro- 
gressive stockmen. 

1  Live  Stock  Kept,  Chicago,  Jan.  20,  1893. 

2  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1892. 


Minor  Cereals,   Ott-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         153 

The  effect  of  oil  meal  on  the  quality  of  milk  and  butter  has 
been  questioned,  but  if  not  over  two  or  three  pounds  are  fed  daily 
per  cow,  no  ill  results  but  much  good  will  follow  its  use.  (646-7) 
A  handful  of  oil  meal  at  a  feed  will  prove  healthful  to  growing 
pigs,  and  advertise  itself  in  their  sleek  coats  and  general  healthy 
appearance.  (892)  The  American  farmer  should  give  up  the 
use  of  oil  meal  and  adopt  the  practice  of  his  English  brother  in 
feeding  this  valuable  article  in  the  nut  form,  which  is  more  pala- 
table with  cattle. 

207.  Castor-oil  seed  in  linseed  meal. —  Fatalities  are  occasion- 
ally reported  among  cattle  by  English  feeders  through  using  oil 
meal  containing  the  pomace  or  beans  of  the  castor-oil  plant,  which 
deadly  poison  occasionally  gets  into  the  meal  by  accident,  in 
warehouses  or  elsewhere.     The  presence  of  castor  beans  or  pom- 
ace in  the  ration  is  shown  by  severe  purging  of  the  animal  eating 
even  a  very  small  amount  of  it,  followed  occasionally  by  death. 
Leather  *  reports  a  method  of  detecting  the  castor  bean  or  castor 
pomace  in  stock  feeds,  which  though  too  complicated  for  the 
feeder  is  useful  to  the  chemist. 

208.  Fertilizing  constituents  in  linseed  meals. —  Linseed  cake  or 
meal  is  rich  in  the  elements  of  fertility,  especially  nitrogen,  and 
for  this  reason  as  well  as  its  general  good  qualities  and  nutritive 
effect  it  is  a  favorite  feeding  stuff  with  the  English  stockman. 
The  voidings  of  animals  receiving  this  feed  should  be  carefully 
saved,  for  in  the  fertility  they  contain  rests  quite  a  fraction  of  the 
first  cost  of  this  feed. 

209.  Home  use  of  oil  meal. —  A  large  portion  of  the  oil  cake 
produced  in  this  country  from  flax  seed  finds  a  market  in  Euro- 
pean countries.     The  quantity  shipped  abroad  varies  greatly  from 
year  to  year,  according  to  the  relative  prices  ruling  for  feeding 
stuffs  in  European  and  American  markets.     Woll 2  estimates  that 
if  half  the  oil  cake  manufactured  in  this  country  is  shipped  abroad, 
it  means  an  annual  loss  of  more  than  thirteen  million  pounds  of 
nitrogen,  four  million  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  and  three  and  a 
half  million  pounds  of  potash,  representing  an  aggregate  value,  as 

1  Analyst.  Vol.  17;  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1892. 

2  Kept.  Wis.  Sta.,  1895. 


154  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

commercial  fertilizers,  of  over  two  million  dollars.  This  loss  of 
fertility  to  American  farms  is  a  serious  matter,  which  can  easily 
be  prevented  by  feeding  the  oil  cake  at  home.  See  Chap.  XVI. 

210.  Cotton  seed.1  — The  products  of  the  cotton  plant  used  as 
food  for  live  stock  are  cotton  seed,  cotton-seed  cake  or  meal,  and 
cotton -seed  hulls. 

The  cotton  crop  of  the  United  States  amounts  to  over  9, 000, 000 
bales  annually  on  the  average,  yielding  about  4,500,000  tons  of 
cotton  seed  as  a  by-product,  since  for  each  pound  of  fiber  the  cot- 
ton plant  produces  about  two  pounds  of  seed.  No  one  can  acquaint 
himself  with  the  great  value  of  cotton  seed  and  its  by-products, 
and  then  consider  this  enormous  annual  output  of  seed,  without 
becoming  deeply  impressed  with  the  great  possibilities  for  stock 
feeding  at  the  South.  Previous  to  1860  almost  all  this  vast  sup- 
ply of  stock  feed  was  wasted  by  the  Southern  planter,  who  allowed 
the  seed  to  rot  back  of  the  gin  house  in  ignorance  of  its  worth, 
while  meat  and  other  animal  products  were  purchased  at  high  cost 
from  Northern  farmers.  The  utilization  of  the  cotton  seed  and 
its  products  as  food  for  both  man  and  beast  is  an  excellent  exam- 
ple of  what  science  has  accomplished  for  the  advancement  of 
agriculture. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  Tenth  Census,  one  hundred 
pounds  of  cotton  seed  yields  approximately: 

Pounds. 

Cotton-seed  meal 37.5 

Cotton-seed  oil 12.5 

Cotton-seed  hulls 48 . 9 

Short  lint  from  hulls 1.1 

211.  Teeding  cotton  seed.-^Seed  as  left  by  the  cotton-gin  is  now 
a  common  feed  at  the  South  for  steers  and  dairy  cows.     It  is 
usually  supplied  to  cattle  without  treatment  of  any  kind,  though 
in  some  cases  it  is  roasted,  boiled  or  steamed  before  feeding. 

Trials  at  the  Texas  Station2  by  Gulley  and  Curtis  show  that 
seed  at  seven  dollars  per  ton  made  cheaper  though  somewhat 
smaller  gains  than  cotton-seed  meal  costing  twenty  dollars  per 

1  Much  of  the  data  here  presented  is  from  Bui.  33,  The  Cotton  Plant, 
Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 

2  Buls.  6,  10. 


Minor  Cereals,   Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         155 

ton.  Connell  and  Carson,  of  the  same  Station,1  conclude  that 
boiled  or  roasted  cotton  seed  is  more  palatable,  less  laxative  and 
produces  more  rapid  gains  than  raw  cotton  seed,  but  that  the 
latter  makes  the  cheaper  gain.  They  state  that  the  advantages 
obtained  from  roasting  the  seed  do  not  pay  for  the  expense 
involved. 

At  the  Mississippi  Station, 2  Lloyd,  summarizing  three  years' 
work,  concludes  that  steamed  cotton  seed  is  better  and  cheaper 
for  producing  milk  and  butter  than  either  raw  seed  or  cotton- 
seed meal.  Butter  produced  from  cotton -seed  meal  cost  twice 
as  much  as  that  produced  from  steamed  or  raw  seed.  The  wise 
planter,  knowing  the  value  of  whole  cotton  seed  as  a  stock  food, 
will  not  dispose  of  good  seed  to  the  oil  mills  at  prices  below  its 
worth  to  him. 

212.  Cotton-seed  cake  and  meal. —  At  the  oil  mills  the  envelope 
of  the  cotton  seed  is  cut  by  machinery  in  such  a  way  that  the  oily 
kernels  are  freed  from  it.     These  seed-envelopes  are  known  as 
cotton-seed  hulls;  they  are  dry,  leathery  and  covered  with  lint. 
The  oily  kernels,  separated  from  the  hulls,  are  crushed,  heated, 
placed  between  cloths  or  sacks  and  subjected  to  hydraulic  pres- 
sure to  remove  the  oil.     The  residue  is  a  yellowish  board-like 
cake  about  one  inch  thick,  one  foot  wide  and  two  feet  in  length. 
In  this  form  it  is  shipped  abroad  as  cotton-oil  cake.     For  home 
use  the  cake  is  reduced  to  meal  by  grinding,  and  transported  in 
sacks  the  same  as  linseed  meal. 

213.  Cotton-seed  meal  for  horses. —  Gebek3  reports  draft  horses 
doing  well  on  a  ration  containing  two  pounds  of  cotton-seed  meal. 
The  use  of  cotton  seed-meal  for  horses  will  be  greatly  extended  at 
the  South  if  experiments  reveal  equally  good  results. 

214.  Feeding  steers  cotton-seed  meal  and  hulls. —  The  practice 
of  fattening  steers  exclusively  on  cotton-seed  hulls  and  cotton-seed 
meal  was  begun  in  the  South  about  1883.     The  business  has  so 
grown  that  it  is  estimated  that  400,000  cattle  were  fattened  at  the 
oil  mills  of  the  South  for  the  season  of  1893-94,  besides  large 
numbers  of  sheep.     In  these  establishments  the  ration  for  steers  at 

1  Bui.  27. 

2  Bui.  21. 

3  Landw.  Vers.  Sta.,  42,  p.  294. 


156  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

first  consists  of  three  or  four  pounds  of  cotton-seed  meal,  which  is 
gradually  increased  to  six,  eight  or  even  ten  pounds  per  head 
daily,  with  all  the  hulls  the  steers  will  eat  additional,  which 
amounts  to  about  four  pounds  of  hulls  for  each  pound  of  meal. 
The  feeding  period  lasts  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
days.  (558-560) 

In  reply  to  an  inquiry  from  the  writer,  Swift  &  Co.  (Packers, 
Chicago)  state  that  cotton- seed  meal  makes  a  good  quality  of  beef. 
They  express  the  opinion  that  a  still  better  quality  is  produced 
where  the  meal  is  fed  in  connection  with  other  concentrates. 

215.  Effects  of  cotton  seed  on  steer  fat. — At  the  Texas  Sta- 
tion, l  Harrington  and  Adriance  found  the  kidney,  caul  and  body 
fats  of  steers  fed  raw,  roasted  or  boiled  cotton  seed  to  have  melt- 
ing points  of  4.1,°  3.2°  and  8.7°  C.  higher  than  the  correspond- 
ing fats  of  corn-fed  steers.  The  influence  on  tallow  was  somewhat 
less  than  that  produced  with  butter  j  while  on  mutton  suet  it  was 
marked  as  with  butter.     Butterine  from  beef  tallow  of  steers  fed 
cotton-seed  by-products  might  give  Becchi's  test,  thus  confusing 
ordinary  chemical  tests  for  pure  butter. 

216.  Cotton-seed  meal  for  dairy  cows. —  At  the  Maine  Station, 2 
Jordan  found  that  the  substitution  of  cotton- seed  meal  for  an 
equal  quantity  of  corn  meal  increased  the  production  of  milk  and 
butter  to  a  profitable  extent.     At  the  Pennsylvania  Station,3 
Hunt  fed  six  pounds  of  cotton- seed  meal  per  day  to  cows  without 
apparent  injury  to  health,  and  by  substituting  equal  weights  of 
cotton-seed  meal  for  wheat  bran  increased  the  milk  yield  one-fifth. 
In  general,  feeding  cotton-seed  meal  to  dairy  cows  has  proved 
satisfactory  when  the  allowance  has  not  exceeded  five  or  six 
pounds  daily  for  short  periods,  and  three  or  four  pounds  for  long 
periods.   (637,  644,  646,  723) 

217.  Effects  of  cotton  seed  on  the  quality  of  butter. — At  the 
Texas  Station, 4  Harrington  and  Curtis,  experimenting  with  cot- 
ton-seed and  its  by-products  with  dairy  cows,  conclude  that  these 
feeds  materially  raise  the  melting  point  of  butter  and  lower  its 

*  Bui.  29. 

*  Repts.  1885-87. 
8  Bui.  17. 

*  Agricultural  Science,  III,  p.  79;  Kept.  1889;  Buls.  11,  29. 


Minor  Cereals,   Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         157 

volatile  fatty  acids;  that  when  cotton  seed  is  fed  alone  or  forms 
a  large  part  of  the  ration,  a  light- colored  butter  of  inferior  quality 
results.  Butter  produced  from  the  heavy  feeding  of  cotton  seed 
showed  poor  flavor  and  had  the  appearance  of  being  overworked. 
Fed  in  reasonable  amount,  cotton  seed  and  its  by-products  pro- 
duce satisfactory  butter,  which  is  firmer  and  will  stastid  shipment 
better  in  warm  climates  than  where  no  seed  is  fed.  Harrington's 
•  results  were  corroborated  by  Wiley, l  and  Lupton  and  Anderson. 2 
The  results  of  recent  experiments  at  the  Iowa  Station  3  go  in  the 
opposite  direction.  The  preponderance  of  evidence  at  hand  shows, 
however,  that  cotton- seed  meal  hardens  butter,  gives  it  a  tallowy 
consistency  and  makes  it  deficient  in  natural  color. 

218.  Cotton-seed    meal   for  calves   and   pigs. —  At  the  North 
Carolina  Station, 4  two  calves  getting  from  one  to  six  ounces  of 
cotton-seed  meal  daily,  died  after  one  month's  feeding.     Other 
instances  of  the  same  kind  are  reported. 

The  use  of  cotton  seed  and  cotton-seed  meal  for  swine  has  been 
extensively  investigated  at  the  Texas  Station  5  by  Curtis.  As  a 
check  in  his  experiments  one  lot  of  pigs  was  fed  corn  in  each  trial, 
and  these  pigs  always  made  excellent  gains,  with  no  deaths, 
thereby  showing  that  normal  conditions  generally  prevailed.  On 
the  other  hand,  many  pigs  fed  cotton  seed  or  cotton- seed  meal  sick- 
ened and  died  in  from  six  to  eight  weeks  after  feeding  began.  The 
mortality  of  the  pigs  receiving  cotton-seed  meal  was  87  per  cent,  j 
when  roasted  seed  was  fed  it  was  75  per  cent.,  and  for  boiled  seed, 
25  per  cent.  In  these  experiments  no  trouble  occurred  until  sev- 
eral weeks  after  feeding  commenced,  and  it  was  observed  that 
pigs  escaping  sickness  and  death  for  thirty  days  beyond  the  time 
when  the  trouble  usually  began  were  safe  from  attack,  though  they 
were  permanently  stunted  in  growth.  As  a  result  of  his  studies 
Curtis  concludes:  "  There  is  no  profit  whatever  in  feeding  cotton 
seed  in  any  form,  or  cotton- seed  meal,  to  hogs  of  any  age." 

219.  Cotton-seed  poisoning. —  According  to  Curtis,  "the  first 
sign  of  sickness  appears  in  from  six  to  eight  weeks  after  cotton- 

1  Proc.  Soc.  Prom.  Agr.  Science.  1889,  p.  84. 

2  Bui.  25,  Ala.  Sta. 

*  Bui.  32. 

*  Bui.  109. 
5  Bui.  21. 


158  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

seed  meal  is  added  to  the  ration.  It  is  shown  by  a  moping  dull- 
ness of  the  animal,  with  loss  of  appetite  and  tendency  to  lie 

apart The  fatal  cases  all  show  spasmodic  breathing, 

and  in  many  instances  the  animal  will  turn  in  one  direction  only. 

When  exhausted  by  his  efforts  the  animal  drops 

down  suddenly,  sometimes  flat  upon  the  belly,  sometimes  on  its 
haunches,  with  his  fore  legs  well  apart  to  keep  from  falling  over, 
almost  always  with  evidence  of  more  or  less  acute  internal  pain.  At 
death  a  quantity  of  bloody  foam  exudes  from  mouth  and  nostrils. J  J 

Cornevin1  fed  two  three-months  old  pigs  4.3  and  6.6  pounds, 
respectively,  of  brownish-yellow  Egyptian  cotton-seed  meal,  with 
fatal  effect.  A  dog  weighing  fifty -three  pounds  was  killed  by 
subcutaneous  injections  of  a  watery  extract  from  1.7  pounds  of 
seed.  In  all  cases  examination  showed  the  digestive  tract  of  the 
animals  to  be  highly  inflamed.  The  oil  pressed  from  the  seed 
had  no  poisonous  properties. 

All  efforts  to  determine  the  poisonous  principle  in  the  cotton 
seed  —  if  there  really  be  one  —  have  thus  far  proved  futile,  and 
the  matter  is  still  a  mystery.  The  ill  effects  have  been  ascribed 
to  the  lint  of  the  seed,  to  the  leathery  seed  coats  causing  injury 
to  the  delicate  lining  of  the  digestive  tract,  to  moulds,  to  changes 
in  the  composition  of  the  meal  when  exposed  to  the  air,  and  to 
some  definite  poisonous  principle  in  the  seed  itself,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  castor- oil  bean. 

220.  The  rational  use  of  cotton  seed  and  cotton-seed  meal. — 
It  may  be  stated  in  general  terms  that  when  cotton  seed  or  its  by- 
products are  fed  in  reasonable  quantity  with  a  proper  complement 
of  other  feeding  stuffs,  satisfactory  results  are  secured  with  all 
farm  animals  except  calves  and  swine. 

Wet  or  mouldy  cotton  seed,  or  that  which  has  heated,  should 
not  be  fed.  Good  cotton-seed  meal  has  a  bright  yellow  color  and 
a  fresh,  pleasant  taste.  Meal  of  a  dull  red  color,  due  to  exposure 
to  the  air,  that  from  musty  seed  as  well  as  that  which  has  fer- 
mented, should  not  be  used  for  feeding  purposes. 

221.  Cotton-seed  hulls. —  Until  recently  cotton-seed  hulls  were 
regarded  as  of  no  value  except  for  fuel  at  the  mills.     It  was  soon 

1  Ann.  Agron.  1896;  Milch  Zeit.  1897,  p.  342. 


Minor  Cereals,   Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         159 

found,  however,  that  cattle  would  eat  them  freely,  and  they  have 
come  into  extensive  use  for  steer  and  cow  feeding,  having  a  market 
value  of  from  two  to  four  dollars  per  ton.  Cotton-seed  hulls,  as 
shown  by  the  table,  contain  less  digestible  nutrients  than  oat 
straw,  but  since  they  are  a  by-product  which  would  otherwise  be 
wasted,  they  are  of  considerable  advantage  to  feeders  in  proximity 
to  the  mills.  Where  broken  kernels  of  the  cotton  seed  adhere  to 
the  hulls,  their  feeding  value  is  considerably  increased. 

222.  Fertility  in  cotton  seed. —  So  rich  is  cotton-seed  meal  in 
fertilizing  elements  that  no  small  part  of  it  goes  at  once  from  the 
oil  mills  to  fertilizer  works,  there  to  be  mixed  with  other  sub- 
stances, and  to  be  sold  back  to  planters  as  a  fertilizer.     In  the  lint, 
which  is  the  one  object  sought  in  cotton  growing,  there  is  but  a 
trace  of  nitrogen  and  mineral  matter,  while  the  seed  is  rich  in 
these  elements  of  fertility.     In  the  4,500,000  tons  of  seed  which 
must  be  grown  each  year  in  producing  the  cotton  crop  of  the 
South,  the  amount  of  fertility  taken  from  the  land  is  almost 
beyond  comprehension.     In  this  continuous  drain  of  fertility  by 
cotton   growing  we  have  a  partial   explanation  of  the  present 
poverty  of  the  soils  in   many  of  the  cotton   districts.     If  the 
cotton  grower  will  adopt  mixed  farming  and  feed  cotton  seed  and 
cotton-seed  meal  to  his  stock,  returning  the  manure  to  the  land, 
two  values  will  be  received  from  the  crop,  and  a  rational  agricult- 
ural practice   inaugurated,  which  is  sorely  needed  in  a  region 
where  nature  has  done  so  much  and  man  so  little  to  place  agricult- 
ure upon  a  substantial  basis. 

223.  Cocoanut  meal. —  The  residue  in  the  manufacture  of  cocoa- 
nut  oil  is  known  as  cocoanut  or  cocoa  meal.    It  is  used  quite  exten- 
sively by  dairymen  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Francisco.     Cocoanut 
meal  has  the  reputation  of  producing  fine  butter  of  considerable 
firmness  and  is  therefore  recommended  for  summer  feeding  to  dairy 
cows.     It  may  be  used  with  advantage  for  swine  and  sheep, 
serving  also  as  a  partial  substitute  for  oats  with  working  horses. 
(474) 

224.  Palmnut  meal. —  This  residue  in  the  manufacture  of  palm 
oil  has  been  extensively  used  in  Europe  as  a  stock  food.     It  has 
good  keeping  qualities,  is  appetizing  and  easily  digested.     The 


160  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

oil  palm  is  cultivated  in  Africa,  South  America  and  the  West 
Indies,  from  which  countries  the  meal  is  largely  shipped  to 
Europe.  Palmnut  meal  is  highly  prized  as  a  food  for  dairy  cows. 

225.  Peanut  meal. —  The  by-product  in  the  manufacture  of  oil 
from  the  peanut  or  earth-nut  is  used  in  various  European  countries 
for  stock  feeding.     Peanut  meal  is  one  of  the  richest  known  foods 
in  the  amount  of  protein  it  yields.     Voelcker  l  states  that  peanut 
cake  proved  on  trial  to  be  a  useful  feeding  material  for  cattle, 
having  a  value  about  equal  to  beans.   (892) 

226.  Sunflower  seed  cake. —  The  sunflower  is  grown  in  Eussia 
on  a  commercial  scale,  one  variety  with  small  seeds  producing  an 
oil  which  serves  as  a  substitute  for  other  vegetable  oils.     The 
large  seeds  of  another  variety  are  consumed  as  a  dainty  by  the 
people. 

The  average  of  five  experiments  conducted  by  the  North  Caro- 
lina Station  2  in  as  many  parts  of  the  state  showed  a  yield  of 
sixty-five  bushels  of  sunflower  seed  per  acre.  Mammoth  Eussian 
sunflower  seed  weighed  26.7  pounds  per  bushel,  with  21.5  per 
cent,  oil;  Black  Giant  seed  weighed  32  pounds  per  bushel,  with 
20.8  per  cent.  oil. 

Bartlett,  of  the  Maine  Station,3  concludes  that,  "With  the 
same  cultivation,  corn  produces  a  third  more  protein  and  twice 
as  much  carbohydrates  as  sunflower  heads. " 

227.  Fertilizing  constituents. —  In  general  all  the  oil-bearing 
seeds  are  rich  in  fertilizing  constituents,  especially  nitrogen.   The 
extraction  of  the  oil  removes  none  of  the  fertilizing  value,  but 
concentrates  it  in  the  residue.     The  stockman  who  is  interested 
in  the  fertility  of  his  land  as  well  as  the  nourishment  of  his  stock 
should  never  forget  these  facts  when  considering  the  purchase  of 
various  feeding  stuffs. 

1  Jour.  Eoy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1893. 

2  Bui.  90  b. 

»  Kept.  1895. 


Minor  Cereals,   Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds.         161 

V.  Leguminous  Seeds. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Peas 

Lbs. 

89.5 
89.2 
85.2 
85.7 

Lbs. 

16.8 
29.6 
18.3 
22.4 

Lbs. 

51.8 
22.3 
54.2 
49.3 

Lbs. 

0.7 
14.4 
1.1 
1.2 

Lbs. 

30.8 
53.0 
33.3 
40.7 

Lbs. 

8.2 
18.7 

Lbs. 

9.9 
19.9 

Soja  (soy)  bean 

Cowpea.       ... 

Horse  bean  

12.0 

12.9 

228.  The  field  pea. —  The  field  pea  is  extensively  grown  in 
Canada  for  stock  feeding,  succeeding  also  along  the  northern  rim 
of  the  corn  belt  and  still  farther  north,  where  in  some  measure  it 
takes  the  place  of  corn  for  feeding  purposes.     The  richness  of  the 
pea  in  protein  marks  it  as  particularly  useful  with  growing  ani- 
mals, dairy  cows  and  pigs.     A  part  of  the  protein  in  peas  as  well 
as  in  other  leguminous  seeds  is  identical  in  composition  with  the 
casein  of  milk,  and  is  termed  "  vegetable77  casein.     This  has  led 
some  writers  to  affirm  that  meals  from  these  seeds  are  useful  in 
mixtures  for  calf  feeding.     Pea  meal  is  sodden  in  character  and 
too  heavy  to  be  fed  as  the  only  grain  allowance.     It  should  be 
lightened  or  extended  by  mixing  with  it  bran,  ground  oats  or  corn 
meal. 

Peas  may  be  harvested  while  still  green  by  turning  pigs  into  the 
pea  field  as  soon  as  the  seeds  are  well  formed.  Under  this  sys- 
tem the  animals  harvest  the  crop  without  labor  to  the  stockman, 
and,  receiving  that  sort  of  food  which  forms  bone  and  muscle, 
they  are  prepared  for  final  fattening  on  corn  or  other  dry  food. 
Peas  are  often  sown  with  oats,  the  latter  plants  forming  support 
for  the  weak  vines.  (Ill,  311,  860) 

229.  Soja  (soy)  bean. —  This  Japanese  plant  flourishes  in  the 
Southern  states  and  as  far  north  as  Kansas.     In  Japan  it  serves 
for  human  food,  but  in  this  country  it  is  used  only  by  stock- 
men.     Like  all  leguminous  seeds,  the  soja  bean  is  rich  in  pro- 
tein, standing  perhaps  at  the  head  of  the  list;  unlike  many  in 
its  class,   it  is  also  rich  in  oil.     Because  the  seeds  must  be 

11 


162  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

gathered  by  hand,  the  plant  has  generally  been  used  only  for 
forage.  At  the  Kansas  Station1  this  plant  gave  yields  ranging 
from  12.5  to  19  bushels  of  beans  per  acre.  At  the  Massachusetts 
Station2  a  comparative  test  of  soja-beaii  meal  with  cotton- seed 
meal  terminated  in  favor  of  the  former  for  milk  and  butter  pro- 
duction. (310)  See  Farmers'  Bui.  58,  Office  of  Experiment  Sta- 
tions, Dept.  Agr.,  Washington. 

230.  Cowpea. —  This  plant  now  holds  an  important  place  with 
Southern  stockmen  because  of  its  rapid  growth  and  the  large 
amount  of  forage  it  yields.     The  earlier  varieties  will  make  a 
satisfactory  growth  as  far  north  as  Wisconsin,  though  all  the 
seeds  will  not  ripen  before  frost.     As  with  the  soja  bean,  the 
seeds  which  ripen  first  must  be  gathered  by  hand.     For  this 
reason  the  crop  is  usually  cut  for  hay  or  silage. 

At  the  Alabama  Station, 3  Duggar  fed  cowpeas  to  fattening  pigs 
with  excellent  returns.  More  lean  meat  was  found  in  the  bodies 
of  pigs  fed  cowpeas  than  those  fed  corn  meal  only.  (109,  863) 

At  the  Texas  Station, 4  the  cowpea  gave  yields  ranging  from 
eight  to  thirty-five  bushels  per  acre.  These  findings  point  to  the 
value  of  the  plant  for  producing  concentrated  feed.  (309) 

231.  Horse  bean. — This  legume  is  used  in  England  for  feeding 
stock,  especially  horses.     The  horse  bean  grows  fairly  well  in 
some  parts  of  Canada,   but  has  never  proved  a  success  in  the 
United  States. 

232.  The  common  field  bean. —  Many  varieties  of  the  common 
field  bean  are  grown  in  this  country  for  human  food.     In  bean- 
growing  districts,  cull  beans  are  purchasable  in  large  quantities, 
usually  at  low  prices,  and  should  be  used  by  stockmen,  since  they 
are  then  a  cheap  feed.     Sheep  are  fond  of  beans  administered  in 
a  raw  state.     For  other  animals  they  should  be  cooked.     Since 
they  are  rich  in  protein,  corn  meal  is  a  natural  addition  to  the 
porridge. 

233.  Fertilizing  constituents. —  All  leguminous  seeds  are  rich 
in  nitrogen  with  from  fair  to  rather  high  mineral  content.     The 
soja  bean  is  of  particular  value  in  the  nitrogen  and  ash  it  carries. 

*  Bui.  32.  2  Kept.  1893. 

s  Bul.  82.  *  Bui.  34. 


CHAPTER  X. 


INDIAN  CORN  AS  A  FORAGE  PLANT. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Green  fodder  corn  (aver- 
age, all  varieties)  

Lbs. 

20.7 
57.8 
59.5 

Lbs. 

1.0 
2.5 
1.7 

Lbs. 

11.6 
34.6 
32.4 

Lbs. 

0.4 
1.2 
0.7 

Lbs. 

4.1 
17.6 
10.4 

Lbs. 

1.5 
5.4 
2.9 

Lbs. 

3.3 

8.9 
14.0 

Fodder  corn,  field-cured.... 
Corn  stover,  field-cured  

234.  Concerning  Indian  corn. —  Indian  corn  (maize)  is  the  im- 
perial agricultural  plant  of  America.     This  giant  annual  grass 
reaches  a  height  of  from  seven  to  fifteen  feet  in  four  or  five  months' 
growth,  producing   under   favorable  conditions  from  30,000  to 
50,000  pounds  of  green  forage  per  acre,  of  which  from  5,000  to 
9,000  pounds  are  dry  matter.    If  grown  in  a  dense  mass  but  little 
seed  forms,  and  we  have  a  rank  grass  which  cures  into  a  bright, 
nutritious  coarse  hay.     If  the  plants  are  grown  at  some  distance 
one  from,  another,  a  large  yield  of  grain  results,  with  excellent 
forage  as  a  secondary  product. 

Were  a  reliable  seedsman  to  advertise  Indian  corn  by  a  new 
name,  recounting  only  its  actual  merits  while  ingeniously  conceal- 
ing its  identity,  his  words  would  either  be  discredited  or  he  would 
have  an  unlimited  number  of  purchasers  for  this  seed -novelty  at 
almost  any  figure  he  might  name.  The  possibilities  of  American 
stock  farms  in  the  live  stock  they  may  carry  and  the  animal  prod- 
ucts they  may  turn  off  is  measured  only  by  the  quantity  of  corn 
and  clover  which  the  land  will  produce,  and  this,  under  good 
management,  seems  almost  unlimited. 

235.  Definitions. —  To  avoid  confusion  the  term  " fodder  corn" 
or  "corn  fodder,"  used  in  this  book,  is  appliod  to  stalks  of  corn, 


164 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


either  green  or  dry,  which  are  grown  for  forage  and  from  which 
the  ears  or  "  nubbins,"  if  they  carry  any,  have  not  been  removed. 
' l  Stover ' '  applies  to  the  dry  stalks  of  corn  from  which  the  ears 
have  been  removed.  Fodder  corn  or  corn  fodder,  then,  is  the  corn 
plant,  either  fresh  or  cured,  with  or  without  ears,  which  has  been 
grown  for  forage;  stover  is  shock  corn  minus  the  ears. 

236.  Thickness  of  planting  and  nutrients. —  At  the  Illinois  Sta- 
tion1 Morrow  and  Hunt,  studying  the  results  of  thick  and  thin 
seeding  on  the  yield  of  nutrients,  reached  conclusions  at  the  end 
of  three  years'  study  which  are  summarized  in  the  table  below. 
In  these  trials  dent  corn  was  planted  in  varying  rates,  from  one 
kernel  every  three  inches  to  one  every  twenty -four  inches,  the 
corn  rows  being  three  feet  eight  inches  apart. 

Results  of  planting  corn  kernels  various  distances  apart  in  rows,  aver- 
age of  three  years'1  trials  —  Illinois  Station. 


Thickness  of  planting. 

Yield. 

Digestible  sub- 
stance per  acre. 

Sto- 
ver 
per 
acre. 

Sto- 
ver 
for 
each 
Ib.  of 
corn. 

Distance  between 
kernels  in  row. 

Kernels 
per 
acre. 

Good 
ears. 

Poor 
ears. 

Sto- 
ver. 

Grain 

Total. 

3  inches  

47,520 
23,760 
15,840 
11,880 
9,504 
5,940 

Bu. 

13 
37 
55 
73 
63 
49 

Bu. 

46 
39 
22 
16 
11 
6 

Lbs. 

3,968 
3,058 
2,562 

2,480 
2,398 
2,066 

Lbs. 

2,250 
2,922 

2,977 
3,113 
2,782 
2,141 

Lbs. 

6,218 
5,980 
5,539 
5,593 
5,180 
4,207 

Tons. 

4.8 
3.7 
3.1 
3.0 
2.9 
2.5 

Lbs. 

3.6 
1.9 
1.5 
1.3 
1.4 
1.5 

6  inches  

9  inches  

12  inches  

15  inches 

24  inches 

We  observe  that  with  the  kernels  three  inches  apart  in  the 
row,  or  47,000  per  acre,  there  were  thirteen  bushels  of  sound 
ears  and  forty-six  bushels  of  poor  ears  or  nubbins  per  acre. 
Poor  as  are  these  returns  from  the  standpoint  of  grain  produc- 
tion, we  gather  the  interesting  and  exceedingly  important  fact 
that  with  thick  planting  there  were  the  largest  returns  in  total 
digestible  nutrients  per  acre.  Over  6,000  pounds  of  digestible 
dry  matter  were  secured  in  nearly  five  tons  of  stover  and  corn 
harvested.  With  this  thickness  of  seeding  there  were  3. 6  pounds 
of  stover  for  each  pound  of  grain.  The  largest  yield  of  sound 

i  Bui.  13. 


Indian  Corn  as  a  Forage  Plant.  165 

ear  corn  was  returned  from  planting  the  kernels  twelve  inches 
apart  in  the  row,  or  about  12,000  per  acre,  from  which  the  returns 
were  seventy-three  bushels  of  sound  ears  and  sixteen  bushels  of 
poor  ears  per  acre,  with  only  about  600  pounds  less  digestible 
matter  than  was  returned  from  planting  the  kernels  four  times  as 
thick. 

Morrow  holds  that,  for  Illinois  conditions,  10,000  good  stalks 
of  corn  per  acre  (secured  by  planting  about  12,000  kernels)  give 
the  best  returns  in  grain.  The  lesson  from  the  above  table  is 
confirmed  by  the  work  of  other  Stations,  and  teaches  that  when 
the  stockman  is  seeking  the  greatest  amount  of  nutrients  possible 
from  the  corn  crop  he  will  plant  the  seed  so  thickly  as  to  choke 
the  ears  to  about  half  their  natural  size.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
his  aim  is  to  produce  grain,  with  stover  secondary,  then  he  will 
plant  the  seed  grains  at  such  distances  one  from  another  as  will 
allow  each  individual  plant  to  produce  one  or  more  full-sized 
ears  of  corn.  No  rule  can  be  given  which  is  applicable  in 
all  cases  for  guidance  as  to  the  amount  of  seed  corn  to  be  planted 
per  acre.  This  varies  greatly  and  is  determined  by  local  condi- 
tions. One  must  know  quite  accurately  the  capacity  of  his  land 
for  this  crop  and  seed  accordingly,  bearing  in  mind,  as  shown 
above,  that  thick  seeding  gives  the  most  total  nutrients,  while 
medium  seeding  gives  the  most  sound  grain. 

237.  Increase  of  nutrients  during  maturity. —  At  the  New  York 
(Geneva)  Station1  Ladd  conducted  investigations  in  relation  to  the 
storage  of  nutrients  by  the  growing  corn  plant,  and  has  arranged  his 
data  in  excellent  form  for  study.  His  findings  are  substantiated 
by  results  in  the  same  line  obtained  at  several  other  Stations.  The 
great  importance  of  the  subject  is  sufficient  excuse  for  the  space 
here  occupied.  The  stockman  should  know  what  the  corn  plants 
in  his  field  are  doing  in  the  way  of  gathering  food  between 
early  growth  and  maturity.  He  should  have  a  keen  appreciation 
of  this  wonderful  process  of  food -gather  ing,  and  as  full  knowledge 
as  possible  of  when  and  under  what  conditions  the  maximum 
results  are  obtained  by  the  plant.  Ladd' s  study  of  the  corn  plant 
extends  from  the  time  it  was  tasseled  until  the  kernels  were 

i  Kept.  1889. 


166 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


ripe.  To  the  novice,  when  a  field  of  corn  is  fully  tasseled, 
it  has  about  completed  its  growth,  but  the  following  table  shows 
in  a  most  effective  manner  that  great  changes  are  still  going  on 
within  the  stalks  and  that  the  storage  of  nutrients  has  only  fairly 
begun: 

Water  and  dry  matter  in  corn  crop  at  different  periods  after  tasseling  — 
New  York  (Geneva}  Station. 


Date  of 
cutting. 

Stage  of  growth. 

Corn 
per 
acre. 

Water 
per 
acre. 

Dry 

matter 
per 
acre. 

July  30. 

Fully  tasseled  

Tons. 
9.0 

Tons. 

8  2 

Tons. 

.8 

Auer.   9. 

Fully  silked  

12.9 

11  3 

1  5 

Aug.  21. 

Kernels  watery  to  full  milk  

16  3 

14.0 

2  3 

Sept    7 

Kernels  glazing 

16  1 

12  5 

3  6 

Sept  23 

Ripe 

14  2 

10  3 

4  0 

The  table  shows  that  an  acre  of  corn  when  fully  tasseled 
weighed  nine  tons,  more  than  eight  of  which  were  water.  The 
water  in  the  corn  continued  to  increase  in  total  amount  until 
August  21,  at  which  time  the  kernels  had  reached  the  full  milk 
stage,  after  which  it  decreased.  The  total  dry  matter  increased 
from  the  beginning.  Between  the  milk  and  glazing  stages  there 
was  the  remarkable  increase  of  over  a  ton  of  dry  matter  per  acre 
of  crop  in  seventeen  days.  From  glazing  to  full  ripeness  there 
was  a  further  increase  of  dry  matter,  though  it  was  small. 

238.  Nutrients  at  different  stages. —  Ladd  found  the  percent- 
age of  nutrients  in  the  crop  at  different  periods  to  be  as  given 
below: 

Percentage  of  nutrients  in  the  dry  matter  of  ripening  corn  —  Neiv 
York  (Geneva)  Station. 


July  30. 

Aug.  9. 

Aug.  21 

Sept.  7. 

Sept.  23 

Ash          

r8   6 

6.5 

5.0 

4.2 

4.6 

14.8 

14.2 

10.3 

8.9 

8.6 

Crude  fiber 

31  8 

28.4 

27.2 

24.4 

21.9 

Nitrogen-free  extract 

40.4 

45  5 

52  6 

58.9 

61.0 

Ether  extract  

4  5 

5.5 

4.9 

3  6 

4.0 

Indian  Corn  as  a  Forage  Plant. 


107 


In  studying  the  foregoing  table  the  reader  should  bear  in  mind 
the  great  increase  in  dry  matter  which  occurs  as  the  plant  ripens. 

239.  Total  nutrients  of  the  corn  crop. —  The  preceding  table 
would  be  misleading  were  it  not  followed  by  another  showing  the 
total  nutrients  in  the  crop  at  different  periods  of  maturity: 

Water  and  nutrients  in  an  acre  of  corn  at  different  stages  of  matu- 
rity—  New  York  (Geneva)  Station. 


Per  acre. 

Tas- 
seled, 
July  30. 

Silked, 
Aug.  9. 

Milk, 
Aug.  21. 

Glazed, 
Sept.  7. 

Ripe, 
Sept, 
23. 

Yield  

Lbs, 
18,045.0 

16,426.0 
1,619.0 
138.9 
239.8 
514.2 
653.9 
72.2 

Lbs. 
25,745.0 

22,666.0 
3,078.0 
201.3 
436.8 
872.9 
1,399.3 
167.8 

Lbs. 
32,600.0 

27,957.0 
4,643.0 
232.2 
478.7 
1,262.0 
2,441.3 
228.9 

Lbs. 
32,295.0 

25,093.0 
7,202.0 
302.5 
643.9 
1,755.9 
4,239.8 
260.0 

Lbs. 
28,460.0 

20,542.0 
7,918.0 
364.2 
677.8 
1,734.0 
4,827.6 
314.3 

Water  

Dry  matter 

Ash 

Albuminoids  

Crude  fiber  

Nitrogen-free  extract  

Ether  extract... 

From  the  above  we  learn  that  the  crop  increased  about  10,000 
pounds  in  weight  between  tasseling  and  maturing.  Of  this  increase 
about  4,000  pounds  were  water,  the  remainder  being  dry  matter. 
The  dry  matter  in  the  crop,  which  amounted  to  only  1, 600  pounds 
at  tasseling  time,  increased  to  7,900  pounds  when  the  corn  was 
ripe.  The  analyses  show  that  between  the  milk  and  the  glazing 
stages  and  on  to  the  final  period  of  ripening  there  is  a  constant 
and  remarkable  increase  in  the  nutrients  stored  by  this  plant. 

240.  Changes  in  protein. —  Ladd  also  made  a  study  of  the  albu- 
minoid and  amide  nitrogen  in  the  crop  with  the  following  results: 

Albuminoid  and  amide  nitrogen   of  the  ripening   corn   crop  —  New 
York  (Geneva')  Station. 


Date. 

Stage  of  maturity. 

Total 
nitrogen. 

Albu- 
minoid 
nitrogen. 

Amide 
nitrogen. 

July  30.  .   . 

Tasseled  

Lbs. 
38  4 

Lbs. 
27  4 

Lbs. 
11  0 

Auir.     9 

Silked 

69  9 

44  6 

25  2 

Aug.  21. 

Kernels  in  milk  

77  6 

66  4 

17  3 

Sept.    7.  .    . 

Corn  glazed  

103  0 

78  5 

24  5 

Sept.  23 

Corn  ripe 

108  5 

91  1 

17  4 

168 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  table  shows  that  while  there  was  a  steady  increase  in  the 
total  albuminoid  nitrogen  up  to  the  maturity  of  the  plant,  the 
amide  nitrogen  varied  greatly  at  different  periods,  being  less 
when  the  corn  was  ripe  than  at  earlier  dates. 

241.  Nitrogen-free  extract. —  The  greatest  increase  in  nutrients 
between  tasseling  and  maturity  was  with  the  nitrogen- free  extract, 
that  part  of  the  corn  plant  next  in  value  to  protein. 

Increase   of  nitrogen-free    extract   'in   ripening    corn  —  New    YorJc 
(Geneva)  Station. 


Date. 

Stage  of  maturity. 

Glucose. 

Sucrose. 

Starch. 

July   30 

Tasseled.           

Lbs. 
58  3 

Lbs. 
9  1 

Lbs. 
122  2 

Aiij?.     9  
Aug.  21 

Silked  
In  milk  

300.4 
665  0 

110.8 
129.0 

491.3 

706.7 

Sept.     7  .  ... 

Glazed  

720  2 

95.1 

1.735.0 

Sept.  23  

Ripe  

538.4 

148.9 

2,852.9 

Concerning  these  changes  Ladd  says:  "The  total  starch  per 
acre  increased  more  than  twenty-three  times  between  tasseling  of 
corn  and  harvesting,  a  period  of  fifty-five  days.  From  the  stage 
of  glazing  of  corn  until  full  ripening  the  increase  in  dry  matter 
was  716  pounds,  the  increase  in  nitrogen-free  extract  587  pounds, 
while  the  increase  of  sugar  and  starch  was  989  pounds,  or  greater 
by  273  pounds  than  the  entire  gain  in  crop.  That  is,  much  of  the 
nitrogen-free  extract,  which  at  period  of  glazing  of  corn  was  in 
the  transitory  state,  had  been  translocated  and  transformed  into 
sugars  and  starch. ' ' 

Jordan,  of  the  Maine  Station, l  studying  the  same  subject,  writes: 
"  Owing  to  the  relatively  large  production  of  sugars  and  starch 
in  the  late  stages  of  growth,  a  pound  of  the  dry  substance  of  the 
mature  well-eared  corn  plant  possesses  a  higher  nutritive  value 
than  at  any  earlier  stage  of  growth."  Compare  with  develop- 
ment of  the  timothy  plant,  Article  259. 

242.  Importance  of  maturity. —  These  tables  teach  the  farmer 
that  he  should  delay  harvesting  the  corn  crop  until  the  plants 
have  been  allowed  to  accomplish  their  full  work  of  gathering, 
elaborating  and  locating  nutritive  matter.  To  harvest  a  corn 
crop  for  forage  or  silage  while  the  grain  is  in  the  milk  stage  is  to 

1  Kept.  1895. 


Indian  Cam  as  a  Forage  Plant. 


169 


sacrifice  a  large  part  of  the  feeding  value  which  would  come 
to  this  crop  were  harvesting  delayed  until  the  corn  is  passing  the 
glazing  stage.  In  the  large  amount  of  water  which  the  corn  plant 
carries  when  quite  green,  the  stockman  learns  why  corn  which 
has  just  tasseled,  when  thrown  to  his  cattle,  often  shows  such 
unsatisfactory  results.  Stock  cannot  consume  enough  of  such 
forage  to  supply  themselves  with  the  nourishment  required. 

243.  Distribution  of  nutrients  in  the  plant. —  The  proportion  of 
nutrients  in  the  several  parts  of  the  corn  plant  has  been  studied 
at  several  Stations  with  interesting  results.  Armsby, l  studying 
the  returns  of  corn  crops  at  four  Stations,  reports  the  following 
yields  of  ears  and  stover: 

Station.  Ears. 

New  Jersey  (Dent) 4,774  Ibs. 

Connecticut  (Flint) 4,216  Ibs. 

Wisconsin  (Dent) 4, 941  Ibs. 

Pennsylvania  (  Dent ) 3, 72 7  Ibs. 


Stover. 
4,041  Ibs. 
4, 360  Ibs. 
4,490  Ibs. 
2,460  Ibs. 


Average 4,415  Ibs.  3,838  Ibs. 

We  learn  from  the  above  that  somewhat  more  than  one-half 
the  total  weight  of  the  corn  crop,  grown  for  grain,  is  found  in  the 
ears. 

Concerning  the  nutrients  in  corn  Armsby  gives  the  following: 

Digestible  nutrients  in  one  acre  of  corn  and  stover  —  average  of  crop 

at  four  Stations. 


Digestible  nutrients. 

Ears. 

Stover. 

Total  crop. 

Protein                       .          .         

Lbs. 
244 

Lbs. 

83 

Lbs. 
327 

Oarbohvdrates       

2,301 

1,473 

3,774 

Kther  extract  

125 

22 

147 

Total.                                             

2,670 

1,578 

4,248 

Per  cent  

63 

37 

100 

We  learn  that  37  per  cent,  of  the  total  digestible  nutrients  in  a 
crop  of  corn  grown  for  the  grain  is  in  the  stover  and  63  per 
cent,  in  the  ears. 


Kept.  Penn.  Sta.,  1887. 


170 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


244.  The  corn  plant  under  Maryland  conditions. —  At  the  Mary- 
land Station1  Patterson  studied  the  nutrients  of  the  corn  crop  of 
that  region  with  the  following  results: 

Yield  per  acre  of  digestible  nutrients  in  different  portions  of  the  corn 
plant  —  Maryland  Station. 


Parts. 

Ash. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitrogen- 
free  extract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Total  dry 
substance. 

Ears 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
157 

Lbs. 
13 

Lbs. 
13 

Lbs. 
30 

Lbs. 
1,530 

Topped  fodder  

5 

10 

190 

232 

13 

450 

Blades  

14 

6 

88 

105 

4 

197 

Husks  

4 

6 

168 

246 

2 

426 

Stubble 

5 

6 

241 

304 

13 

569 

We  learn  that  for  Maryland  conditions  48  per  cent,  of  the 
digestible  matter  appears  in  the  ear  and  52  per  cent,  in  various 
portions  of  the  stover. 

245.  What  the  corn  plant  yields  in  Georgia. —  At  the  Georgia 
Station,2  Redding,  working  out  results  for  his  region,  reports: 

Digestible  nutrients   in  each  portion  of  the  corn   plant  —  Georgia 

Station. 


Parts, 

Protein. 

Nitrogen-free 
extract.* 

Butts   

Lbs. 

8.0 

Lbs. 

485.0 

Top  stalks                                                        

3.9 

95.4 

Bottom  blades.                                           

5  9 

106  2 

Top  blades                                           

3  5 

68  7 

Shucks.          

7.4 

198.8 

Tassels   

1.1 

20.3 

Grain  .*  

159.0 

1,604.0 

(jobs                                                                 

9  0 

249.0 

Constituents. 


*  Including  fat  X  2.27. 

By  the  above  we  learn  that  about  two-thirds  of  the  value  of  the 
corn  crop  of  Georgia  is  found  in  the  ears,  the  results  corroborating 
Armsby '  s  statement. 

i  Bui.  20.  2  Bui.  30. 


Indian  Corn  as  a  Forage  Plant. 


171 


246.  Losses  in  field  curing. —  Since  corn  forage  gathered  into 
shocks  (stooks)  presents  a  considerable  surface  to  the  weather, 
losses  must  occur  through  washing  by  rains  and  wasting  of  the 
leaves  by  the  wind.  It  has  been  found,  however,  that  larger 
losses  occur  in  shock  corn  than  is  possible  from  this  cause  alone. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station,  Woll1  determined  the  dry  matter 
and  protein  in  a  crop  of  corn  when  it  was  cut  and  shocked,  and 
again  after  the  shocks  had  cured  and  been  exposed  to  the  weather 
for  several  months.  The  investigation  extended  over  four  years, 
with  the  results  given  in  the  table: 

Losses  of  shock  corn  in  field  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Green 
fodder. 

Cured 
fodder. 

Lo 

ss. 

Average  for  two  varieties,  total  weight. 

Lbs. 
129,014 

Lbs. 
31,738 

Lbs. 

Per  cent 

Dry  matter.  

32,432 

23,270 

9,162 

28  3 

Protein 

2  581 

1  682 

899 

34  8 

Results  of  four  years'  work. 
Drv  matter  

72,164 

54,937 

17,227 

23  8 

Protein  

5,706 

4,317 

1,389 

24  3 

We  are  told  of  a  loss  of  nearly  one-fourth  of  dry  matter  and 
protein  which  the  crop  contained  at  harvest  time  by  preserving 
corn  forage  in  the  usual  manner.  This  seems  incredible,  but  the 
subject  has  been  studied  by  too  many  Stations  with  unanimity  of 
results  to  admit  of  further  question.  Cooke2  has  shown  that 
heavy  losses  occur  in  shock  corn  in  the  dry  climate  of  Colorado. 
The  substances  lost  through  wasting  are  protein  and  nitrogen- free 
extract  (sugar,  starch,  etc.),  the  more  valuable  portions  of  the 
forage.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  entirely  prevent  these  losses  by 
placing  the  cured  fodder  under  shelter  or  in  the  stack,  for  it  has 
been  found  that  the  forage  continues  to  waste  even  under  these 
favorable  conditions. 

At  this  time  we  are  unable  to  state  through  what  instrumen- 
tality all  these  losses  are  brought  about.  Some  substance  is  washed 
away  by  rain,  and  the  winds  carry  oif  exposed  leaves  and  parts 
of  the  stalks  on  the  outside  of  the  shocks,  but  these  sources  of  loss 

1  A  Book  on  Silage. 

2  Bui.  30,  Colo.  Expt.  Sta. 


172  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

are  not  sufficient  to  account  for  all  the  shortage.  Probably  fer- 
mentations are  slowly  but  steadily  wasting  the  substance  of  the 
forage. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  when  calculating  the  value  of  a  crop  of 
corn  forage,  a  deduction  should  be  made  from  its  worth  at  harvest 
time  for  its  reduced  value  at  feeding  time,  if  the  latter  occurs 
some  months  after  harvest. 

247.  Fodder  corn  for  soiling. —  Feeding  corn  in  the  green  stage 
should  become  a  general  practice  upon  most  farms,  for  the  reason 
that,  during  the  fall,  pastures  are  often  scanty,  and  if  forced  to 
subsist  entirely  upon  them  animals  cannot  do  their  best.     It  will 
be  found  that  an  acre  of  corn  fed  while  green,  if  quite  well  matured, 
may  so  advance  the  condition  of  steers,  dairy  cows  or  other  stock 
as  to  yield  a  double  value  over  what  it  would  if  saved  until  winter 
and  fed  out  at  a  time  when  there  is  often  a  plethora  of  the  same 
material. 

248.  Shocking  (stooking)  corn. —  The  process  of  shocking  corn 
is  too  well  understood  to  need  description.     The  loss  from  weath- 
ering can  be  much  reduced  by  making  larger  shocks  than  are 
commonly  found,  and  exercising  care  in  their  construction.     In 
the  shock  the  corn  stalks  stand  almost  vertical,  and  if  the  shock 
be  not  bound  too  tightly  there  is  room  enough  when  the  stalks  wilt 
to  admit  currents  of  air  which  pass  from  below  upward  and  out. 
Such  currents  carry  off  the  moisture  and  dry  the  interior  portion 
of  the  shock,  without  allowing  mould  to  work  injury  to  the  drying 
material.     No  simple  system  of  preservation  can  be  more  perfect 
for  the  end  in  view  than  that  which  we  find  in  the  common 
method  of  harvesting  corn  forage  by  standing  the  stalks  upright 
in  closely-bound  bunches.     When  shock  corn  is  pronounced  dry 
by  the  farmer,  it  still  carries  a  much  larger  percentage  of  water 
than  does  hay,  as  we  learn  from  the  table.     This  fact  should  not 
be  overlooked  when  considering  the  amount  of  material  required 
for  nourishing  farm  animals. 

249.  Feeding  shock  corn. —  In  districts  where  corn  is  grown  for 
the  grain  and  put  into  shocks,  farmers  not  infrequently  follow  the 
practice  of  separating  the  corn  from  the  stover  by  husking.  For 
steer  feeding  there  seems  no  valid  reason  for  the  extra  expense 


Indian  Corn  as  a  Forage  Plant.  173 

incurred  by  the  operation,  for  the  steers  can  as  well  perform  the 
work.  The  same  statement  holds  true  in  some  measure  for  dairy 
cows.  An  ear  of  corn  with  the  husks  still  about  it  possesses  an 
aroma  which  is  largely  lost  when  it  is  thrown  into  the  crib,  where 
it  is  often  polluted  by  vermin.  That  cattle  appreciate  the  fresh- 
ness of  unhusked  corn  is  shown  by  the  eagerness  with  which 
they  search  the  stalks  for  ears.  Whoever  has  watched  a  cow 
searching  through  a  bundle  of  stover  for  a  possible  ear  or  nubbin 
of  corn  which  the  would-be  thrifty  farmer  has  by  accident  over- 
looked, cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  folly  of  the  farmer  in 
so  carefully  performing  his  work.  It  is  true  that  when  fed  in  this 
manner  some  corn  will  pass  through  the  animal  unbroken,  but 
feeding  trials  have  shown  that  despite  such  waste  there  is  usually 
profit  in  the  system  over  that  of  husking  and  reducing  the  corn 
to  meal.  A  part  of  the  corn  can  be  husked  to  furnish  grain  for 
other  purposes,  and  the  remainder  of  the  crop  left  for  the  cattle. 
By  a  little  study  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  grain  the  shocks 
carry,  the  feeder  can  soon  adjust  the  supply  of  corn  to  forage  so 
as  to  give  each  animal  its  proper  allowance  of  grain  along  with 
the  fodder.  Because  one' s  ancestors  laboriously  husked  corn  and 
afterwards  divided  the  crop  with  the  miller  for  grinding  is  no 
reason  why  in  these  later  days  of  high-priced  labor  and  low- 
priced  products  we  should  still  be  husking  corn  for  cattle,  when 
these  animals  have  all  day  in  which  to  do  the  work  and  willingly 
perform  it.  (581) 

250.  Cured  fodder  corn. —  Corn  grown  and  cured  for  forage  con- 
stitutes a  coarse  hay  of  high  feeding  value  produced  at  low  cost. 
Because  only  a  portion  of  the  nutriment  has  gone  into  the  ear, 
the  stalks  of  fodder  corn  are  more  nutritious  and  palatable  than 
stover,  which  has  lost  much  of  its  substance  to  the  grain  it  pro- 
duced. 

In  feeding  fodder  corn  to  horses  care  should  be  taken  that  they 
do  not  get  too  much  grain;  otherwise  there  is  no  better  forage  for 
them.  Corn  fodder,  in  which  the  ears  have  been  choked  to  half 
or  less  than  half  their  normal  size  by  thick  planting,  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  forms  of  roughage  for  dairy  cows,  steers  in  the  first 
stages  of  fattening,  and  young  cattle.  All  the  corn  these  animals 


174  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

require  can  be  supplied  them  unhusked,  in  which  form  there  is 
no  labor  or  expense  for  husking  and  grinding.  The  ears  of  thickly- 
grown  fodder  corn  are  small,  palatable  and  easily  masticated. 
When  corn  fodder  is  fed  to  cattle  they  should  be  allowed  ample 
time  to  work  it  over  before  cleaning  out  the  mangers  or  feed  racks. 
The  Indian  corn  plant  grown  for  hay,  and  carrying  more  or  less 
grain,  according  to  requirements,  possesses  a  value  not  fully  appre- 
ciated by  stockmen  generally.  We  have  become  so  accustomed 
to  growing  this  grass  for  the  grain  it  yields  and  using  the  rough^ 
age  as  a  sort  of  straw,  to  be  eaten  or  wasted  as  accident  determines, 
that  we  have  almost  wholly  overlooked  its  hay-making  qualities. 
(652) 

251.  Corn  stover. —  The  forage  which  remains  after  removing 
the  ear  has  a  higher  feeding  value  than  is  usually  ascribed  to  it. 
For  idle  horses  and  growing  colts  corn  stover  may  be  used  in 
winter  with  advantage.     This  forage  is  now  commonly  fed  to 
dairy  cows,  and  experience  attests  its  value.     By  running  stover 
through  the  shredder  or  feed  cutter  the  proportion  readily  eaten 
by  cattle  may  be  materially  increased.   (653) 

252.  "  Pulling"  fodder.— At  the  South  the  custom  prevails  of 
stripping  the  leaves  from  the  corn  stalk  while  still  green  and  cur- 
ing them  into  a  nutritious  form  of  hay.     Stubbs,  of  the  Louisiana 
Station,1  found  that  " pulling'7  fodder  from  the  stalks  of  corn 
caused  a  shrinkage  in  the  yield  of  grain  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
per  cent.  Bedding,  at  the  Georgia  Station, 2  after  investigating  the 
subject,  writes:     "  The  strongest  argument  against  the  practice 
is  the  meager  results  of  fodder  compared  with  the  amount  of  labor 
involved.  The  same  labor  employed  in  mowing  grass  or  any  good 
forage  crop,  even  without  the  use  of  improved  harvesting  ma- 
chinery, would  yield  vastly  greater  results. "     Stock-growing  at 
the  South  will  never  attain  the  dignity  the  situation  merits  until 
the  custom  of  i '  pulling ' '  corn  leaves  is  abandoned  and  the  planters 
address  themselves  to  intelligent  modern  methods  of  cultivating 
and  harvesting  the  many  valuable  forage  plants  which  can  be 
grown  in  that  region. 

1  Bui.  22;  see  also  Bui.  104,  N.  C.  Sta. 

2  Bui.  10. 


Indian  Corn  as  a  Forage  Plant.  175 

253.  A  new  corn  product. —  The  pith  of  the  corn  stalk  furnishes 
a  packing  for  the  walls  of  vessels  which  will  prevent  the  entrance 
of  water  into  the  ship  when  the  hull  is  pierced.     It  is  found  that 
for  each  pound  of  suitable  pith  there  are  fifteen  pounds  of  blades, 
husks  and  stalks  remaining  as  waste  or  by-products.     It  is  pro- 
posed to  grind  this  waste  into  a  meal  for  stock  feeding.     At  the 
Maryland  Station, l  Patterson  found  this  new  food  substance  more 
digestible  than  whole  fodder,  in  feeding  trials  with  steers,  and 

•  quite  satisfactory  in  comparison  with  corn  blades.    Cows  and  steers 
fed  corn-stalk  meal  ruminated  as  naturally  as  if  feeding  on  hay. 

254.  The  so-called  corn-stalk  disease. —  In  the  central  corn  dis- 
tricts the  common  practice  is  to  remove  the  ears  of  corn  from  the 
standing  stalks  and  turn  cattle  into  the  stalk  fields  to  gather  the 
ears  left  by  the  huskers  and  consume  what  they  will  of  the  rough- 
age.    Not  infrequently,  within  a  day  or  two  after  turning  the 
cattle  into  the  fields,  they  suddenly  sicken  and  die.     Thousands 
of  cattle  are  lost  each  fall  in  this  way,  and  the  subject  has  attracted 
much  attention  and  elicited  several  theories  as  to  the  cause. 
Moore 2  concludes  that  the  disease  is  probably  due  to  some  poison- 
ous principle  in  the  dried  corn  stalk  or  its  leaves.     Without 
being  able  to  name  a  remedy,  he  prudently  points  a  way  by  which 
all  danger  from  this  source  can  be  avoided.     He  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  corn-stalk  disease  never  attacks  cattle  fed 
shock  corn  or  corn  stover.     He  recommends  that  the  stockman 
shock  at  least  a  portion  of  his  corn  crop  and  feed  this  to  his  cattle 
instead  of  turning  them  into  the  stalk  fields.     Possibly,  too,  if 
stockmen  will  feed  shock  corn  to  their  cattle  for  a  few  days  or 
weeks  previous  to  turning  them  into  the  stalk  fields,  the  danger 
may  be  averted,  since  by  this  practice  the  animals  will  become 
accustomed  to  this  form  of  feed. 

255.  Corn  smut. —  Besides  the   direct  losses   caused   by  corn 
smut,  it  has  frequently  been  charged  that  the  smut  masses  are 
poisonous  to  cattle  eating  them.     To  settle  this  important  matter, 
a  number  of  experiments  have  been  conducted  in  which  the  smut 
was  fed  to  cattle  and  the  effects  noted. 


'  Bui.  43. 

2  Bui.  10,  Bur.  of  An.  Ind.,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr;  see  also  Bui.  58,  Kan.  Sta. 


176  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  first  trial  reported  is  that  by  Gamgee,  *  in  which  forty-two 
pounds  of  corn  smut  were  fed  to  two  cows  without  ill  effects. 

At  the  Wisconsin  University  2  the  writer  conducted  a  smut- 
feeding  experiment  with  two  milch  cows  in  the  following  manner: 
Clean  smut  was  fed  with  bran,  only  a  few  ounces  being  daily  given 
at  first,  the  allowance  being  increased  as  rapidly  as  the  cows 
would  consume  it.  When  the  quantity  fed  reached  thirty-two 
ounces  daily  for  each  cow,  one  of  them  refused  to  eat  the  feed  con- 
taining the  smut,  and  the  experiment  with  her  was  closed.  The 
other  cow  seemed  greedy  for  this  substance,  and  the  allowance 
was  increased  until  sixty-four  ounces,  an  amount  which  filled  a 
peck  measure,  was  fed.  For  a  time  the  cow  seemed  to  thrive  on 
the  smut  and  was  growing  fat,  but  was  suddenly  taken  sick  and 
died  within  a  few  hours  after  the  trouble  was  first  observed.  A 
post-mortem  examination  revealed  no  certain  cause  of  the  fatality. 

At  the  Michigan  Station  3  Smith  fed  corn  smut  to  four  cows,  the 
maximum  daily  allowance  reaching  eleven  pounds  of  fairly  well 
cleaned  smut  per  cow.  Ten  pounds  of  such  smut  filled  a  half 
bushel  measure.  When  eating  eleven  pounds  of  smut  daily,  one 
cow  showed  indisposition  for  a  time,  but  soon  returned  to  normal 
health. 

In  experiments  by  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 4  TL  S.  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  Washington,  corn  smut  was  fed  to  heifers 
without  ill  effects.  With  all  the  trials  but  one  ending  with- 
out disaster,  it  seems  reasonable  to  conclude  that  corn  smut  is 
at  least  not  a  virulent  poison,  if  indeed  it  is  one  in  any  sense  of 
the  word.  It  is  probable  that  in  the  Wisconsin  and  Michigan 
cases,  where  one  cow  died  and  the  other  was  indisposed,  the  ani- 
mals suffered  because  of  eating  too  much  highly  nitrogenous 
material  rather  than  anything  poisonous.  Worse  results  might 
have  followed  the  feeding  of  the  same  volume  of  corn  meal  or 
cotton-seed  meal.  It  would  seem  that  there  is  little  or  no  danger 
from  corn  smut  unless  cattle  consume  a  large  quantity.  This  is 
possible  where  they  are  allowed  to  roam  through  stalk  fields  and 

1  Kept.  Diseases  of  Cattle,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Washington,  1871. 

2  Rept.  Bd.  Regents,  1881. 
s  Bui.  137. 

*  Bui.  10. 


Indian  Corn  as  a  Forage  Plant.  177 

gather  what  they  will.     There  may  be  cases  where  animals  seek 
ont  the  smut  and  eat  inordinately  of  it. 

256.  Fertilizing  constituents. —  The  table  shows  that  corn  fodder 
carries  a  fair  amount  of  nitrogen,  percentagely.  Because  of  the 
large  tonnage,  the  crop  takes  from  the  land  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  this  element.  Stover  is  quite  rich  in  potash. 

On  the  whole,  the  corn  crop  in  any  form  must  be  regarded  as 
a  carbohydrate  crop  and  utilized  on  that  basis.  Its  complement 
in  feeding  is  clover  or  some  legume,  and  these  latter  plants  should 
always  be  grown  on  the  same  farm  in  order  to  keep  the  fields  in 
good  fertility  as  well  as  furnish  the  stock  nitrogen  and  mineral 
matter,  in  which  corn  is  somewhat  deficient. 
12 


CHAPTEE  XL 


THE  GRASSES,    FKESH  AND  CUHED  —  STRAW. 

I.   Grass  for  Pasture  and  Soiling. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Grass. 
Pasture  grasses  (mixed)  ... 
Kentucky  blue  grass 

Lbs. 

20.0 
34.9 
38.4 
27.0 
34.7 
37.8 
23.4 
20.6 

86.8 
90.1 
91.1 
78.8 
92.3 
87.1 
83.4 

90.4 
92.9 
90.8 
85.8 
85  .,7 
85.7 

Lbs. 

2.5 
3.0 
1.2 
1.5 
2.1 
2.6 
2.1 
0.6 

2.8 
4.9 
4.8 
4.8 
4.5 
5.9 
7.9 

0.4 
0.6 
1.2 
0.7 
0.3 
1.5 

Lbs. 

10.2 
19.8 
19.1 
11.4 
21.2 
18.9 
14.1 
12.2 

43.4 
42.3 
46.9 
37.3 
51.7 
40.9 
40.1 

36.3 
40.6 
38.6 
41.2 
23.3 
33.0 

Lbs. 

0.5 
0.8 
0.6 
0.5 
0.6 
1.0 
0.4 
0.4 

1.4 
1.4 
1.0 
2.0 
1.3 
1.2 
1.5 

0.4 
0.4 
0.8 
0.6 
0.5 
0.7 

Lbs. 
9.1 

Lbs. 
2.3 

Lbs. 
7.5 

Timothy,  different  stages... 
Orchard  grass,  in  bloom.... 
Redtop,  in  bloom  

4.8 
4.3 

2.6 
1.6 

7.6 
7.6 

Oat  fodder  

4.9 
3.3 
2.3 

12.6 
13.1 
11.5 
11.9 
12.0 
14.1 
16.1 

5.9 
4.6 
6.2 
13.1 
7.9 

1.3 
1.5 
0.9 

5.3 
4.1 

3.6 
4.0 
3.5 
2.7 
4.3 

1.2 

2.8 
2.0 
3.0 
7.0 

3.8 
7.3 
2.3 

9.0 
18.8 
10.2 
15.7 
13.0 
15.5 
14.9 

5.1 
7.9 
12.4 
20.9 
4.2 

Rye  fodder  

Sorghum                .  . 

Hay. 
Timothy  

Orchard  grass  

Redtop  

Kentucky  blue  grass  

Hungarian  grass 

Mixed  grasses  

Rowen  (mixed)  

Straw. 
"Wheat  

Rye 

Oat  

Barley      

Wheat  chaff.  

Oat  chaff  

257.  Concerning  pastures. —  The  time  for  turning  stock  to 
pasture  is  hailed  with  delight  by  stockmen,  for  it  means  exercise 
and  outdoor  life  to  animals  long  confined  in  quarters  which  at  best 
are  not  as  satisfactory  as  those  afforded  by  the  change.  It  means 
dropping  a  large  part  of  the  "  chores  "  which  bind  together  with 
a  cord  of  duty  all  the  daylight  hours  of  winter.  With  the  live 
stock  caring  for  themselves  in  the  pasture  comes  the  opportunity 


The  Grasses,  Fresh  and  Cured.  179 

for  sowing  the  seed  and  gathering  the  harvest  from  which  prov- 
ender for  the  next  season  is  to  come. 

It  is  a  fact  which  cannot  escape  the  attention  of  students  of 
agricultural  economics,  that  our  stockmen  rely  too  blindly  upon 
pastures  for  the  maintenance  of  their  cattle  during  half  the  year. 
But  a  few  centuries  ago  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  trusted 
to  the  growth  of  natural  herbage  for  the  support  of  their  stock  not 
only  in  summer  but  throughout  the  entire  year.  If  their  animals, 
foraging  for  themselves  as  best  they  could,  survived  the  winter, 
all  was  well;  if  they  died  from  starvation,  it  was  an  "  act  of 
God.'7  We  have  abandoned  the  crude  practices  of  our  ancestors, 
and  now  carefully  store  in  barns  abundance  of  provender  for 
feeding  flocks  and  herds  during  winter's  rigor.  We  are  amazed 
that  our  ancestors  were  so  improvident  as  to  gather  no  winter 
feed  for  their  cattle,  while  for  ours  great  barns  are  built  and  stored 
with  provender.  By  turning  cattle  to  pasture  in  spring  and  let- 
ting them  forage  as  best  they  may  until  winter  we  show  that  all 
the  barbaric  blood  has  not  yet  been  eliminated  from  our  veins.  If 
the  summer  rains  are  timely  and  abundant,  the  cattle  are  well 
nourished  on  these  pastures;  if  drought  prevails  they  suffer  for 
food  as  surely,  and  often  as  severely,  as  did  the  live  stock  of 
England  in  winter,  ages  ago.  To  suffering  from  scant  food  there 
is  added  the  heat  of  "dog  days"  and  the  ever-present  annoyance 
of  blood- sucking  flies.  Our  stockmen  will  never  be  worthy  of 
their  calling,  nor  their  flocks  and  herds  yield  their  best  returns, 
until  ample  provision  is  made  against  drought-ruined  pastures  in 
summer.  Every  argument  which  stands  in  favor  of  storing 
provender  for  stock  in  winter  holds  with  equal  force  for  providing 
feed  to  make  good  any  possible  shortage  of  pastures  in  summer. 

258.  Yields  of  pasture  grass. —  At  the  Pennsylvania  Station, l 
Holter  studied  the  yield  of  a  pasture  consisting  of  blue  grass  and 
white  clover.  By  means  of  a  lawn  mower  with  attachment  the 
grass  as  cut  was  gathered,  with  the  following  yields  per  acre: 

1  Kept.  1889. 


180 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Yield  of  pasture  grass  per  acre  from  May  1  to  Oct.  15  inclusive  — 
Pennsylvania  Station. 


Total 
substance. 

Digestible 
matter. 

Lbs. 
5,720 

Lbs. 

Total  dry  matter       

1  613 

1  190 

Albuminoid,  nitrogen  

331 

249 

Non-albuminoid  nitrogen  

45 

45 

Crude  fiber  

300 

226 

Nitrogen-free  extract  

706 

534 

Ether  extract     

94 

70 

Ash          

136 

65 

At  the  Michigan  Station, x  Crozier  cut  the  growing  timothy  from 
a  plat  of  grass  eight  times  during  the  season,  while  on  another 
plat  of  the  same  area  the  timothy  was  allowed  to  make  full 
growth  and  was  then  cut  for  hay.  It  was  found  that  the  yield  of 
dry  matter  in  the  hay  was  about  four  times  that  of  the  grass  which 
was  cut  eight  times.  The  per  cent,  of  protein  in  the  grass  cut 
eight  times  was  about  three  times  that  in  the  once -cut  grass.  This 
experiment  shows  that  our  pastures  in  their  short  herbage  yield 
a  much  higher  proportion  of  muscle-making  nutrients  than  is 
obtained  from  grasses  which  are  allowed  to  mature,  but  that  much 
the  largest  returns  are  secured  by  allowing  them  to  ripen.  (554) 

259.  Changes  in  grass  during  ripening. —  At  the  Illinois  Sta- 
tion, 2  Hunt  studied  the  effects  of  maturity  on  the  yield  and  com- 
position of  several  forage  plants.  Timothy  was  examined  at  four 
periods  covering  about  one  month  in  all,  beginning  June  25, 
when  the  plants  were  in  full  bloom.  The  yield  of  hay  and  the 
total  nutrients  per  acre  for  each  of  the  four  periods  are  given  in 
the  table  at  the  end  of  this  Article. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  on  the  whole,  there  was.  a  steady  increase  in 
the  weight  of  the  crop  as  the  plants  progressed  toward  maturity. 
We  observe  only  a  slight  increase  in  the  total  protein  content  after 
the  first  cutting.  Between  the  first  and  last  cuttings  the  crude 
fiber  increased  more  than  300  pounds  and  the  nitrogen-free  extract 
more  than  350  pounds,  while  the  ether  extract  was  reduced  in 
total  quantity  as  ripening  progressed.  It  appears,  then,  in  this 

i  Bui.  141.       ~~»  Bui.  5. 


Tlie  G-rasses,  Fresh  and  Cured. 


181 


study,  that  aside  from  protein,  the  timothy  plant  had  not  elabo- 
rated its  full  complement  of  nutrients  at  the  time  of  blossoming, 
and  to  secure  the  largest  total  quantity  of  nutrients  in  the  hay  we 
must  wait  until  the  seeds  of  this  grass  are  nearly  ripe.  By  so 
doing  we  gain  no  protein  or  ether  extract,  but  a  very  consider- 
able quantity  of  crude  fiber,  which  is  not  valuable,  and  still  more 
nitrogen-free  extract,  which  is  an  important  addition. 

Yield  of  hay  and  nutrients  from  timothy  at  four  periods  of  growth  — 

Illinois  Station. 


Hav 

Total 

nutrients  p 

>er  acre. 

Date. 

Stage  of  develop- 
ment. 

per 
acre. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitrogen- 
free 
extract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Ash. 

June  25 

Full  bloom 

Lbs. 
4  480 

Lbs. 
240 

Lbs. 
1,056 

Lbs. 
1,602 

Lbs. 
165 

Lbs. 
224 

July    2 

One-half  anthers 
shed  

4.320 

225 

1,155 

1,663 

152 

228 

July  11 
July  23 

Seed  in  dough.... 
Seed  nearly  ripe.. 

5,240 
5,180 

246 
253 

1,380 
1,377 

1,960 
2,058 

153 
137 

273 
239 

260.  Time  to  cut  grass  for  hay. —  Generally  the  admonitions  are 
for  early  cutting,  and  where  there  is  much  hay  to  be  gathered, 
work  should  certainly  begin  early  in  order  that  it  be  completed 
before  the  grass  seeds  are  so  ripe  as  to  shell  from  the  heads  of  the 
late-cut  grass.  Early-cut  hay  seems  more  palatable  to  stock,  and, 
pound  for  pound,  more  satisfactory.  On  the  other  hand,  we  can 
secure  a  considerably  larger  quantity  of  the  carbohydrates  by 
delaying  the  harvest  until  the  grass  seeds  are  fully  formed.  In 
the  increase  of  nutrients  in  the  timothy  plant  up  to  a  late  period, 
we  have  a  repetition  of  what  occurs  in  that  other  grass,  the  Indian 
corn  plant,  in  the  study  of  which  we  have  learned  that  the  storage 
of  nutrients  continues  up  to  the  last  rtage  of  ripening.  (241) 

For  the  dairy  cow  and  sheep  grass  should  be  cut  early,  since  these 
animals  do  not  relish  hay  that  is  woody  and  lacking  in  aroma, 
as  is  the  case  with  late- cut  hay.  For  horses  and  fattening  cattle 
the  choice  of  dates  for  cutting  probably  falls  the  other  way,  being 
in  favor  of  later  cutting.  These  animals  subsist  mostly  on  con- 
centrated feed,  and  hay  serves  more  for  "filling,"  as  horsemen 


182  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

say.  If  harvesting  is  delayed  too  long,  the  stems  of  the  grasses 
are  tough  and  stringy,  and  the  seeds  shatter  from  the  heads.  Such 
hay  has  little  aroma  and  lacks  palatability,  if  not  nutrients. 

Sanborn  1  conducted  trials  with  early-  and  late-  cut  hay  for  fat- 
tening steers,  and  found  that  the  late- cut  hay  gave  the  best  returns. 
The  writer,  in  an  unpublished  experiment  conducted  several  years 
since,  reached  the  same  result. 

261.  Points  in  hay  making. —  Important  as  is  the  subject  of  hay 
making,  there  is  not  much  of  a  definite  character  that  can  be  writ- 
ten concerning  it.     The  widely  varying  nature  of  the  crops  to  be 
converted  into  hay,  the  dampness  or  dryness  of  the  soil  of  the 
meadows,  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  intensity  and 
continuance  of  sunlight  and  heat,  are  all  modifying  factors  in  this 
problem  and  combine  to  keep  it  one  of  those  arts  which  cannot  be 
definitely  discussed  in  books.     Some  points  of  interest  and  possi- 
ble importance  will  be  here  considered.     We  have  drawn  largely 
from  Storer, 2  whose  classic  work  on  agriculture  should  be  read 
by  all. 

262.  The  aroma  of  hay. —  Though  an  unweighable  quantity,  the 
aroma  of  grass  has  real  value  in  rendering  hay  more  palatable. 
When  the  sun  dissipates  the  dew  from  the  drying  grass  in  the 
meadow  we  detect  the  escaping  aroma,  because  the  dow  in  rising 
carries  some  of  it  into  the  atmosphere.     Here  is  one  reason  why 
hay  should  not  remain  scattered  over  the  meadow  at  night.     If 
new-mown  hay  lies  for  a  time  in  the  sunlight,  the  bleaching  which 
we  observe  indicates  that  chemical  changes  are  taking  place  within 
the  grass  stems  and  leaves,  and  such  changes  are  not  of  advantage. 
Green- colored,  sweet- smelling  hay  is  really  the  best,  and  prudent 
stockmen  in  securing  provender  will  not  overlook  such  seemingly 
small  points  as  preserving  the  aroma  and  preventing  bleaching. 

263.  Changes  during  hay  curing. —  Grass  stems  remain  alive,  in 
a  certain  sense,  for  some  time  after  they  have  been  severed  by  the 
mower,  and  the  leaves  while  succulent  and  green  continue  to 
exhale  moisture  in  a  natural  way.     If  grasses  whose  leaves  are 
still  fresh  are  gathered  into  bundles  so  the  leaves  are  not  at  once 

1  Kept.  New  Hamp.  Bd.  Agr.,  1880. 

2  Agriculture  in  Some  of  its  Relations  with  Chemistry. 


The  Grasses,  Fresh  and  Cured.  183 

withered,  the  leaves  will  continue  to  draw  water  from  the  stems, 
and  in  so  doing  rid  them  of  moisture  and  hasten  the  drying  grass 
toward  the  condition  of  hay.  In  this  fact  we  have  an  explana- 
tion of  one  of  the  advantages  obtained  in  curing  grass  in  cocks  or 
bundles  rather  than  by  spreading  it  out  thinly  in  the  hot  sun. 
Hay  which  is  cocked  in  the  afternoon  entraps  much  warm  air, 
and  the  mass  remains  in  a  condition  favorable  to  the  transpiration 
of  moisture  during  the  night.  The  heat  yielded  by  the  plant  in 
carrying  on  its  life  functions,  and  the  warm  air  entrapped  by  grass 
gathered  in  the  afternoon,  should  not  be  confused  with  that  which 
may  develop  in  partially  cured  or  damp  hay  through  fermenta- 
tion. When  hay  that  has  been  cocked  for  a  time  is  exposed  to 
the  air  in  flakes,  the  moisture  which  has  been  diffused  evenly 
through  the  mass  is  yielded  up  rapidly  and  such  material  is  soon 
dried.  While  hay  can  be  made  without  going  through  the  sweat- 
ing process  in  the  cock,  it  is  usually  much  better  because  of 
having  undergone  such  action.  Hay  put  into  the  barn  when  it 
is  so  dry  that  it  will  not  pack  well  is  not  in  first-class  condition. 
It  should  be  mowed  away  with  just  that  amount  of  moisture  which 
allows  it  to  settle  compactly  when  treaded  down. 

264.  Treatment  of  hay. —  Salt  and  lime  scattered  over  hay  when 
it  is  put  into  the  mow  tend  to  prevent  fermentation  and  check  the 
growth  of  molds  and  mildews.  Salt  renders  hay  more  palatable. 
These  materials  are  not  essentials  in  hay  making,  but  are  helpful 
when  partially  cured  hay  is  being  stored  during  bad  weather. 
Damp  hay  may  be  improved  by  placing  it  in  alternate  layers  with 
dry  straw  5  the  straw  absorbs  moisture  from  the  hay  and  so 
improves  in  quality.  It  also  imbibes  some  of  its  aroma,  so  that 
cattle  will  more  readily  eat  both  straw  and  hay. 

Hay  from  the  second- growth  grasses  or  aftermath  is  rich  in 
nutrients,  but  it  comes  at  a  time  when  the  ground  is  often  damp, 
the  days  short  and  the  sun's  heat  weak.  This  unfortunate  com- 
bination renders  the  curing  of  aftermath  into  hay  difficult  and 
the  product  usually  of  less  value  than  first-crop  hay.  Cured  under 
favorable  conditions,  aftermath  hay  is  an  excellent  article  for 
winter  feeding. 

New-made  hay  is  laxative,  and  should  not  be  fed  to  work 
horses  or  driving  horses,  since  their  flesh  becomes  soft  through  its 


184 


Feeds  and.  Feeding. 


use.  !N~ot  until  the  sweating  process  has  been  completed  in  the 
mow  and  the  mass  cooled  off  can  new- crop  hay  be  safely  fed. 

265.  Dried  versus  green  grass. —  At  the  Pennsylvania  Station, l 
Armsby  tested  dried  and  fresh  grass  for  cows  in  the  following 
manner:  Short  grass  on  the  college  lawn,  cut  with  a  lawn-mower, 
was  divided  into  two  portions,  one  of  which  was  fed  to  a  cow  in 
the  fresh  stage,  the  other  half  being  dried  over  a  steam  boiler 
and  fed  in  turn  to  the  same  cow. 

This  investigator  had  previously  conducted  an  experiment  at 
the  Wisconsin  Station  in  which  grass  from  nine  to  ten  inches  in 
height  was  used.  Here  half  the  grass  was  fed  fresh,  and  the 
other  half,  cut  at  the  same  time,  was  dried  in  the  sun  and  fed  to 
the  same  cow.  The  yield  of  milk  and  butter-fat  in  these  tests 
was  as  follows: 

Daily  yield  of  milk  and  fat  with  cows  fed  green  and  dried  grass  — 
Pennsylvania  and  Wisconsin  Stations. 


Station. 

Green  grass. 

Dried  grass. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Pennsylvania                               .        .... 

Lbs. 

26.01 
16.98 

Lbs. 

1.08 
.92 

Lbs. 

25.27 
17.81 

Lbs. 

1.06 
1.00 

"Wisconsin                          

Average     

21.5 

1.00 

21.54 

1.03 

These  results  are  practically  equal,  showing  that  grass  when 
dried  in  the  best  possible  manner  yields  as  much  nutriment  as 
will  the  same  grass  when  fresh.  In  practice  it  is  impossible 
to  dry  grass  or  other  forage  plants  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
product  will  equal  the  same  plants  in  a  fresh  condition.  In. 
hay -making  more  or  less  of  the  finer  portions  of  the  forage  plants 
are  broken  off  and  lost.  Again,  continued  exposure  of  plants  to 
the  sun  reduces  their  palatability  by  bleaching  and  the  loss  of 
aromatic  compounds.  Dew  works  injury,  and  rain  carries  away 
the  more  soluble  portions.  Thus,  while  dried  forage  may  theo- 
retically equal  the  fresh  substance,  in  practice  it  falls  short,  the 
difference  in  value  being  determined  by  the  circumstances  con- 
trolling the  harvest. 

'  Itept.  1888. 


The  Grasses,  Fresh  and  Cured.  185 

266.  Losses  due  to  weathering. —  Stockhardt1  cured  one  sample 
of  meadow  hay  in  three  days  and  left  another  in  the  field  for 
thirteen  days  in  alternate  wet  and  dry  weather.  Analysis  showed 
that  the  weathered  hay  lost  12.5  per  cent,  of  its  total  dry  sub- 
stance>  representing  one-fourth  of  its  original  nutritive  value. 
Marcker2  calculated  the  loss  of  meadow-hay  exposed  through  a 
prolonged  and  heavy  rain  as  18.4  and  1 7.6  per  cent,  of  the  dry  sub- 
stance.     This  heavy  withdrawal  of  the  soluble  portion  of  the 
hay  leaves  more  woody  fiber  and  indigestible  matter  proportion- 
ately, which  renders  the  hay  more  difficult  of  digestion.     Then, 
too,  the  aroma  of  forage  will  be  dissipated  by  exposure. 

II.  The  Common  Grass  Plants  for  Pasture  and  Soiling. 

267.  Kentucky   blue   grass. —  This  grass,  often  called   "June 
grass, "  is  found  everywhere  in  the  Northeastern  states.     By  its 
persistence  it  often  drives  out  red  clover  and  timothy  as  meadow 
crops,  and  holds  in  pastures,  open  woodlands  and  roadsides  against 
all  other  claimants.     As  shown  by  the  table,  this  grass  is  the 
richest  in  digestible  protein  and  ether  extract  of  any  in  the  list, 
a  finding  borne  out  by  the  experience  of  stockmen.     The  char- 
acteristics of  Kentucky  blue  grass  exhibited  in  its  habits  of  growth 
should  be  understood  by  the  stockman  to  guide  him  in  wisely 
using  it.     Because  its  seed  ripens  with  the  commencement  of  sum- 
mer, Kentucky  blue  grass  prepares  for  that  event  by  gathering 
much  of  the  nutriment  necessary  in  seed  production  the  preceding 
fall.     With  the  coming  of  spring  it  pushes  forward  vigorously, 
and  early  in  May  the  fields  are  covered  with  a  dense  carpet  of 
nutritious  grass.     "With  the  shooting  of  the  grass  stems  for  seed- 
bearing  the  last  of  May,  the  energies  of  the  plant  reach  their  cul- 
mination and  there  is  a  cessation  of  growth.     The  blue  grass  has 
entered  a  period  of  rest,  and  for  a  few  months  there  is  little  evi- 
dence of  life.     If  at  this  time  drought  occurs,  the  pastures  turn 
brown  and  the  plants  appear  to  be  dead  or  dying.     With  the 
coming  of  the  fall  rains  all  is  changed  and  a  green  carpet  again 
covers  the  pastures.     The  blue-grass  plants  have  passed  the  rest- 
ing period  and  are  again  gathering  nourishment  for  the  next 
summer's  seed  bearing. 

1  Wolff,  Farm  Foods,  English  edition,  p.  155.  *  Loc.  cit. 


186  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  prudent  stockman,  recognizing  these  habits  of  growth,  with 
alternate  abundance  and  scarcity  in  food  supply,  realizes  that  he 
must  not  rely  entirely  upon  blue-grass  pasture  for  a  uniform  sup- 
ply of  nutriment  for  his  cattle  throughout  the  whole  season.  He 
stocks  the  pastures  lightly  in  spring  so  that  the  overplus  herbage 
of  May  and  June  may  remain  to  be  drawn  upon  during  the  dor- 
mant period  of  midsummer,  or,  stocking  his  pastures  more  heav- 
ily, he  anticipates  the  midsummer  shortage  by  providing  a  liberal 
supply  of  silage,  green  clover,  green  corn,  or  other  forage  crops. 
Knowing  the  characteristics  of  his  pastures  and  acting  upon  this 
knowledge,  his  stock  suffers  little  or  no  loss  from  the  usual  mid- 
summer shortage,  but  grows  steadily  throughout  the  season. 

Kentucky  blue  grass  is  primarily  a  pasture  grass  and  should 
always  be  regarded  as  such.  The  small  yield  of  hay  from  this 
grass  is  of  fair  quality  both  as  to  protein  and  carbohydrates,  while 
it  is  quite  rich  in  ether  extract. 

268.  Timothy  or  herd's  grass. —  This  common  hay  plant  of  the 
Northeastern  states  is  successfully  grown  as  far  west  as  Nebraska, 
and  Sanborn  reports  large  yields  at  the  Utah  Station. l  Analysis 
shows  that  timothy  hay  varies  in  composition,  especially  in  pro- 
tein, according  to  the  soil  on  which  it  is  grown  and  the  amount 
and  character  of  the  fertilizers  used.  Soils  enriched  by  manure 
yield  hay  carrying  more  protein  than  is  found  in  that  produced 
on  lands  of  low  fertility.  With  its  stiff,  woody  stems  and  few 
leaves  the  timothy  plant  cures  rapidly  into  hay.  Its  character- 
istic appearance,  which  easily  distinguishes  it  from  the  hay  of 
other  species,  adds  to  its  commercial  value.  Timothy  seeds  are 
large  and  easily  recognized,  and  as  they  are  produced  in  abun- 
dance and  hold  their  vitality  well,  they  aid  this  grass  in  holding 
favor  with  the  farmer.  Timothy  hay  is  usually  free  from  dust, 
is  clean  and  rarely  attacked  by  molds.  It  is  relished  by  horses 
which  secure  most  of  their  nourishment  from  oats  or  other  grain. 
All  these  qualities  combine  to  render  hay  from  the  timothy  plant 
a  favorite  with  both  grower  and  buyer. 

While  timothy  meets  quite  fully  the  demands  of  city  condi- 
tions, it  should  not  occupy  an  important  place  on  well -managed 

1  Kept.  1892. 


The  Grasses,  Fresh  and  Cured.  187 

stock  farms,  for  the  yield  of  forage  is  too  small  to  warrant  adher- 
ence to  this  crop  alone  for  farm -horse  feed.  Fodder  corn,  hay 
from  the  cereals,  and  bright  straw  are  substitutes  that  may  be 
fed  with  economy  and  satisfaction  to  all  horses  not  required  for 
road  work. 

Timothy  meadows  afford  but  little  aftermath,  and  if  pastured 
at  all  closely  this  grass  is  easily  destroyed.  Eed  clover  should  be 
grown  with  timothy,  if  possible,  for  the  combination  furnishes  a 
superior  hay  both  in  quantity  and  quality  for  many  purposes. 
When  grown  together,  the  hay  produced  the  first  season  after 
seeding  will  consist  largely  of  clover.  Many  of  the  clover  roots 
die  at  the  end  of  this  season,  and  the  nutriment  from  these 
nourishes  the  timothy  plants,  which  spring  into  ascendency  the 
second  season,  yielding  a  hay  in  which  clover  forms  the  smaller 
portion.  (478) 

269.  Orchard  grass. —  This  grass  starts  very  early  in  the  spring 
and  ripens  about  two  weeks  in  advance  of  timothy.  For  this  rea- 
son it  associates  well  with  red  clover.     Hay  from  orchard  grass 
is  inclined  to  be  harsh,  woody  and  lacking  in  aroma,  and  is  not 
particularly  relished  by  stock.     These  defects  can  be  partially 
overcome  by  cutting  the  grass  very  early.     Orchard  grass  does 
not  form  an  even,  dense  sod,  but  grows  in  tufts  or  tussocks,  for 
which  reason  it  should  not  be  sown  alone,  but  with  other  grasses 
and  with  clovers.     Mixed  with  other  grasses,  orchard  grass  serves 
a  useful  purpose  in  pastures,  and  under  favorable  conditions  will 
hold  its  own  indefinitely. 

Tracy,  of  the  Mississippi  Station, l  reports  orchard  grass  as 
making  a  better  winter  growth  on  heavy  clay  soils  than  any  other 
species  tested.  In  that  region  it  commences  growth  in  February 
and  yields  hay  in  May. 

270.  Redtop. —  This  widely  disseminated  grass  of  several  spe- 
cies is  especially  valuable  on  damp,  low  lands,  where  it  forms 
a  close  turf,   furnishing  excellent  pasture  and  a  valuable  hay, 
composed  of  fine  stems  and  rather   numerous  leaves.     Redtop 
appears  indigenous  to  ^Northern  meadows  and  should  be  more 
generally  grown  wherever  the  land  is  suitable. 

1  Bui.  20. 


188  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Tracy,  of  the  Mississippi  Station, l  found  no  better  grass  for 
marshy  lands  and  seepy  hillsides. 

271.  Mixed    permanent    grasses. —  Nature  rarely  covers  any 
large  area  with  a  single  species  of  vegetation,  and  it  is  better  to 
humor  her  by  having  several  varieties  of  grass  and  clover  in  the 
same  meadow  or  pasture  than  growing  a  single  one,  no  matter  how 
valuable.     For  stock  feeding  at  the  North,  a  mixture  of  redtop, 
timothy  and  orchard  grass  with  one  or  two  kinds  of  clover  will 
give  a  larger  yield  of  aromatic,  palatable  hay  than  is  possible 
with  a  single  variety.     There  are  several  other  varieties  of  grasses 
which  will  thrive  in  special  locations.     The  stockman  should 
experiment  freely  with  the  more  promising  varieties,  that  he  may 
learn  by  direct  experiment  which  combinations  are  best  suited  to 
his  condition. 

272.  Hungarian  grass,  millet. —  The  millets,  which  are  annual 
grasses,  consist  of  many  races  and  varieties  mixed  in  hopeless 
confusion.     German  millet  and  Hungarian  grass  are  the  millets 
commonly  grown  in  the  Northern  states.     Sown  in  early  summer, 
they  thrive  remarkably  in  hot  and  even  dry  weather,  reaching 
the  harvest  period  in  August  or  September.     In  order  to  produce 
hay  of  fine  quality,  a  liberal  allowance  of  seed  should  be  sown. 
With  thin  seeding  millet  stems  are  coarse  and  reed-like,  forming 
a  hay  of  low  quality.     All  forms  of  millet  grass  designed  for 
hay  should  be  cut  just  as  the  plant  is  coming  into  blossom,  to 
avoid  the  formation  of  hard  seeds  which  are  indigestible  by 
horses  and  cattle.     Hay  from  thickly-seeded  millet,  if  cut  early, 
is  useful  for  cattle  and  sheep  feeding.     If  given  to  horses,  it 
should  be  fed  very  sparingly  and  under  close  supervision.   (198) 

For  millet-hay  injurious  to  horses,  see  Article  482. 

At  the  Massachusetts  Station,2  Brooks,  experimenting  with 
Japanese  millet,  grew  crops  in  which  the  plants  reached  a  height 
of  six  feet,  yielding  from  twelve  to  eighteen  tons  of  green  forage 
per  acre.  Millet  forage  was  much  relished  by  dairy  cows,  prov- 
ing superior  to  flint  corn  fodder. 

273.  Grasses  at  the  South. —  In  the  past  the  Southern  planter 
has  despised  grasses  because  they  seriously  interfered  with  the 

*  Bui.  20.  2  Bept.  1895. 


The  Grasses,  Fresh  and  Cured. 

cultivation  of  the  cotton  crop.  Now  that  mixed  farming  is  gain- 
ing friends  in  that  region,  some  of  the  many  grasses  which  grow 
readily  there  are  receiving  attention,  only  a  few  of  which  can  be 
mentioned. 

Teosinte  is  a  giant  grass,  somewhat  resembling  the  sorghum 
plant.  Stubbs,  of  the  Louisiana  Station, l  reports  a  yield  of  over 
fifty  tons  of  green  teosinte  forage  per  acre.  This  plant  is  too 
tropical  in  character  to  hare  a  forage  value  outside  a  belt  border- 
ing the  gulf. 

Millo-maize  is  a  variety  of  sorghum  which  succeeds  in  the  south- 
ern portion  of  our  country.  At  the  Louisiana  Station, 2  a  yield  of 
thirteen  tons  of  cured  forage  and  thirty-nine  bushels  of  seed  was 
obtained  from  one  acre.  Bermuda  grass  is  now  common  in  the 
South,  spreading  by  both  seed  and  creeping  stems.  Tracy,  of  the 
Mississippi  Station, 3  reports  a  yield  of  from  two  to  four  tons  of 
Bermuda  hay  per  acre  in  two  cuttings.  Bermuda  grass  is  useful 
for  forage  and  pasture,  its  sod  resembling  in  some  measure  that 
formed  by  Kentucky  blue  grass  at  the  North. 

Numerous  grasses  can  be  grown  with  profit  at  the  South. 4  With 
a  large  list  of  true  grasses  and  legumes  available  for  forage  pur- 
poses, there  seems  no  reason  why  the  Southern  states  should  not 
become  a  favorite  region  for  stock  growing. 

274.  Sorghum. —  The  sorghum  plant,  being  more  difficult  of 
cultivation  in  the  humid  regions  than  Indian  corn,  gives  way  to 
the  latter  in  the  production  of  green  forage.  At  the  Pennsylvania 
Station, 5  Armsby,  studying  this  plant  for  soiling  purposes,  con- 
cludes that  it  has  no  special  value  for  that  state.  Amber-cane 
sorghum  gave  a  yield  of  but  little  over  ten  tons  of  green  forage 
per  acre,  while  dent  corn  under  similar  conditions  returned  from 
ten  to  fifteen  tons.  In  the  semi- arid  region  of  the  Southwest, 
sorghum  grows  with  great  vigor,  withstanding  drought  and  drying 
winds  remarkably  well.  Because  of  these  characteristics  and  the 
abundant  nutriment  contained  in  stems,  leaves  and  seed  heads, 
the  sorghum  plant  is  destined  to  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  the 

*  Bui.  19. 

2  Bui.  22. 

3  Bui.  20. 

4  Farmers'  Bui.  18,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 

•  Kept.  1889. 


190  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

agriculture  of  this  district,  furnishing  green  forage  to  stock  dur- 
ing shortage  of  pastures  in  summer  and  fall,  and  the  best  of  dry 
fodder  in  winter.  (194) 

275.  Dangers  from  second-growth  sorghum. —  The  agricultural 
press  reports  cattle  dying  suddenly  after  eating  very  small  quanti- 
ties of  second-growth  sorghum.     Coburn1  quotes  Pritchard,  the 
Kansas  state  veterinarian,  as  saying:     "  Second  -growth  sorghum 
under  certain  conditions  is  very  destructive  indeed  to  cattle,  small 
quantities  killing  them  almost  instantly.     .     .     Just  what  this 
destructive  agent  is  I  am  unable  to  say.' '     In  the  same  report  ref- 
erence is  made  to  Kaffir  corn  causing  the  same  trouble.     Tracy2 
reports  that  second-growth  "  chicken  corn,"  a  variety  of  sorghum 
found  in  the  Gulf  states,  when  eaten  by  cattle,  sometimes  pro- 
duces fatal  results  within  a  few  minutes.     He  says:     "It  seems 
to  affect  only  certain  animals,   or  perhaps  only  certain  plants 
produce  the  ill  effects,  as  generally  only  a  few  animals  in  a  herd 
are  killed,  and  these  are  commonly  found  near  together."     No 
one  knows  why  second-growth  sorghum  should  cause  trouble  in 
the  way  noted,  and  no  remedy  is  known.     Prevention  is  the  only 
means  at  hand. 

276.  Sorghum  hay. —  In  the  semi-arid  region  of  the  Southwest, 
the  sorghum  plant  possesses  many  advantages  for  producing  a 
coarse  hay  of  high  feeding  value.     In  parts  of  Kansas  and  Texas, 
stockmen  plant  the  seed  by  means  of  grain  drills ;  at  other  times 
it  is  sown  broadcast.  Sorghum  may  also  be  planted  in  wide  drills 
and  cultivated  like  corn.     This  giant  grass,  when  sown  broadcast, 
is  cut  with  a  mower,  and  after  partially  drying  is  gathered  into 
windrows,  and  finally  into  bunches  of  considerable  size,  where  it 
remains  until  required  for  feeding,  or  the  bunches  are  gathered 
into  stacks. 

When  planted  in  drills,  sorghum  should  be  harvested  in  shocks, 
as  is  common  with  Indian  corn.  The  stems  of  the  saccharine 
sorghums  are  rich  in  sugar  and  are  eagerly  consumed  by  farm 
stock  in  winter.  The  leaves  .of  all  varieties  of  sorghum  form  a 
bright,  palatable,  nutritious  hay,  free  from  dust  and  very  useful 


1  Kept.  Kan.  Bd.  Agr..  Sept.  1894. 

2  Bui.  20,  Miss.  Expt.  Sta. 


The  Grasses,  Fresh  and  Cured.  191 

for  feeding  horses  especially,  also  for  sheep  and  cattle.     The  sor- 
ghum plant  may  be  successfully  used  for  silage. 

277.  The  cereals  as  forage  plants. —  Wheat,  oats,  barley  and 
rye  plants  may  serve  for  pasture  and  hay  production  in  many 
cases  with  profit.     These  grasses,  for  such  they  are,  may  be  sown 
at  almost  any  time  during  the  growing  season,  and  will  soon  cover 
the  ground  with  a  carpet  of  green,  affording   much  nutritious 
pasture,  where  otherwise  nothing  of  value  would  be  produced. 

Eye  sown  in  August  will  furnish  pasture,  three  or  four  weeks 
later,  that  will  continue  useful  until  winter  sets  in,  and  is  again 
available  as  soon  as  vegetation  starts  in  the  spring.  Stewart1 
states  that  fifty  sheep  may  be  continuously  pastured  in  summer 
upon  six  acres  of  land  sown  to  rye  the  previous  fall,  if,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  pasture,  they  are  fed  a  little  linseed  meal  and  corn. 

Green  rye,  when  used  for  soiling  or  pasturing  cows,  has  the 
reputation  of  imparting  a  bad  flavor  to  milk.  This  trouble  can 
usually  be  averted  by  turning  the  cows  to  pasture,'  immediately 
after  milking,  for  two  or  three  hours,  after  which  time  other  feed 
should  be  given. 

Barley  furnishes  an  excellent  pasture  in  a  short  time  after 
seeding,  and  yields  liberally  of  green  forage.  Sown  in  fields 
from  which  a  grain  crop  has  been  harvested,  barley  will  grow  two 
or  three  feet  in  height  and  may  even  head  out  before  heavy  fall 
frosts.  At  the  Alabama  (Canebrake)  Station2  a  field  seeded  in 
the  fall  with  barley  yielded  23, 100  pounds  of  green  forage  by  the 
following  March.  Winter  wheat  can  likewise  be  used  for  pasture 
and  yields  a  nutritious  herbage  suitable  for  soiling.  In  southern 
Kansas  winter  wheat  pastured  by  cows  in  mild  weather  is  said  to 
impart  a  grass  flavor  to  what  otherwise  would  grade  as  winter 
butter. 

278.  Oats  or  barley  and   peas. —  The  value  of  oats  and  peas 
and  barley  and  peas  for  forage  crops  has  been  tested  by  Eoberts 
and  Clinton  at  the  Cornell   Station.3     They  write:    "Banking 
next  to  corn  as  a  forage  crop  and  a  close  second,  comes  oats  and 
peas.     In  the  two  years  in  which  we  have  been  conducting  experi- 

1  "Feeding  Animals." 
a  Bui.  9. 
3  Bui.  135. 


192  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

ments  in  the  production  of  forage  this  combination  has  proven 
itself  well  worthy  of  a  place  on  every  farm  where  stock  is  kept. 
It  is  valuable  either  for  pasture,  for  cutting  as  a  soiling  crop,  or 
when  allowed  to  mature  it  may  be  cured  for  hay,  making  a  most 
valuable  article.  When  planted  in  succession  of  about  two  weeks, 
the  first  planting  being  as  early  in  the  spring  as  conditions  will 
permit,  a  succession  of  highly  nutritious  forage  is  produced  which 
is  greatly  relished  by  stock.  If  a  more  general  use  was  made  of 
oats  and  peas  for  summer  feeding  it  would  greatly  decrease  the 
expense  of  the  production  of  milk  and  the  cost  of  maintaining 
cattle  and  economize  land  very  materially.  A.  highly  nutritious 
forage  would  be  obtained,  rich  in  protein  and  furnishing  nearly  a 
balanced  ration  for  milch  cows.  A  large  amount  can  be  produced 
per  acre  and  it  may  be  grown  from  early  spring  to  late  fall.  A 
slight  freeze  does  not  affect  it,  and  it  may  be  sown  in  the  spring 
before  frosts  are  over,  and  the  late  forage  frequently  remains  in 
good  condition  until  December.  The  oats  and  peas  at  this  Station 
sown  August  1,  1896,  were  in  good  condition  for  feeding  until  a 
severe  freeze  on  the  night  of  December  2  cut  them  down.  For 
late  forage,  however,  barley  and  peas  are  recommended  instead 
of  oats  and  peas.  For  sowing  any  time  after  July  1st,  substitute 
barley  for  oats.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  in  late  summer  barley 
makes  more  rapid  growth,  is  less  likely  to  attacks  of  rust  and 
other  fungous  diseases  than  are  oats." 

279.  The  small  grains  as  hay  crops. —  Wheat,  oats  and  barley, 
used  as  grasses,  are  capable  of  producing  excellent  hay  if  har- 
vested at  the  proper  time.  Barley  constitutes  the  common  hay 
crop  of  the  Pacific  Slope  outside  the  alfalfa  region,  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  this  plant,  as  well  as  oats  and  wheat,  should  not  be 
employed  as  a  hay  producer  in  other  portions  of  the  country.  If 
the  meadows  fail  to  yield  the  usual  supply  of  hay,  the  loss  can  be 
made  good  by  having  recourse  to  small  grain  grown  as  a  substi- 
tute. When  used  for  hay  production,  grasses  from  the  cereal 
grains  should  be  cut  when  the  seed  is  in  the  early  milk  stage,  at 
which  time  the  stems  and  leaves  may  be  easily  cured  into  bright, 
dust-free  hay  of  a  quality  well  suited  for  feeding  horses  or  dairy 
cows. 


The  Grasses,  Fresh  and  Cured.  193 

Crops  of  the  cereals  which  have  made  too  heavy  a  growth  of 
straw  because  of  wet  weather  usually  lodge  badly,  and  when  this 
occurs  the  yield  of  grain  is  unsatisfactory.  Such  overgrown  grain 
can  be  converted  into  hay  with  more  profit  than  would  result  from 
a  light  crop  of  poor  grain,  which  costs  much  to  harvest. 

280.  Straw. —  While  primarily  used  for  bedding  purposes,  the 
softer  kinds,  especially  oat  and  barley  straw,  are  serviceable  for 
feeding  purposes.     In  Canada  and  England  chaifed  straw  is  com- 
monly mixed  with  pulped  roots  and  the  mass  allowed  to  soften 
and  even  ferment  slightly;  thus  prepared,  cattle  readily  consume 
large  quantities  with  satisfactory  returns.     Oat  straw,  because  of 
its  nutrients  and  its  soft,  pliable  stems,  leads  for  feeding  purposes, 
with  barley  following.     Wheat  straw,  being  coarse  and  stiff,  is 
not  as  satisfactory,  though  some  will  be  eaten  by  cattle.     Bye 
straw  is  woody,  harsh  and  should  be  used  for  bedding  purposes. 

281.  Chaff. —  Wheat  and  oat  chaff  contain  more  protein  than 
straw,  and  because  of  their  fineness  and  softness  they  are  useful  in 
feeding  stock.     Often  with  chaff  there  are  found  light  and  broken 
kernels  which  have  escaped  the  threshers;  by  these  the  value  of 
chaff,  so  called,  is  materially  increased. 

282.  Flax  straw. —  Where  flax  is  grown  for  the  seed,  the  straw 
or  haulm  is  generally  wasted.     Stockmen  who  have  fed  flax  straw 
to  horses  and  cattle  report  satisfactory  results  from  its  use.     Fre- 
quently some  flax  seed  is  left  in  the  straw,  which  increases  its 
value.     There  seems  no  foundation  for  the  statement  that  the  fiber 
of  flax  straw  forms  balls  of  indigestible  matter  in  the  stomachs  of 
farm  animals.     It  is  no  doubt  digested  the  same  as  other  fibrous 
matter  —  the  lint  of  cotton,  for  example.     Some  flax  straw  may 
always  be  fed,  and  during  times  of  scarcity  it  will  prove  a  boon 
to  the  stockman  who  overcomes  his  prejudice  and  supplies  it  freely 
to  his  hungry  animals. 

283.  Ergot. —  At  times  the  grains  of  the  rye  plant  and  seeds  of 
the  grasses  are  attacked  by  a  fungus  called  ergot  which  causes 
them  to  become  several  times  their  normal  size.     Ergot  grains 
are  usually  spur-like  in  form,  quite  rigid,  and  nearly  black  in 
color.     Being  quite  large  on  rye,  ergot  grains  may  be  detected 
when  the  observer  is  some  distance  away.     On  the  heads  of  the 

13 


194  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

smaller  grasses  they  can  only  be  found  by  close  inspection,  but 
this  is  not  difficult  when  one  is  familiar  with  their  appearance. 
When  eaten  by  animals  ergot  may  produce  convulsions,  paralysis 
of  the  hind  limbs,  slowness  of  heart  action  and  death  by  exhaus- 
tion. With  pregnant  animals  in  an  advanced  period  of  gestation 
it  may  produce  abortion.  Epidemics  of  abortion  in  cows  have 
been  traced  to  this  cause,  and  veterinary  surgeons  employ  ergot 
to  expedite  languid  labor.  Ergotism  shows  itself  most  commonly 
in  deranged  nutrition;  the  limbs  of  the  animal  affected  turn  black 
and  shrivel,  dying  as  though  attacked  by  dry  gangrene. 1 

There  have  been  several  serious  outbreaks  of  this  disease  in 
the  last  form  noted  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  gener- 
ally in  the  Western  states.  Much  needless  excitement  has  been 
caused  in  some  instances  through  reports  current  in  the  press  that 
the  ailment  was  the  dreaded  contagious  "  foot-and-mouth ? '  dis- 
ease. Only  cattle  have  so  far  been  attacked.  Horses,  it  is  said, 
reject  hay  containing  ergot. 

The  observant  stockman  can  usually  forestall  all  trouble  from 
ergot  by  examining  the  grass  heads  in  the  meadows  and  pastures 
immediately  before  haying  and  avoiding  grass  carrying  the  fungus. 
A  little  study  will  enable  one  to  detect  ergot  grains  even  on  grasses 
as  fine  and  small  as  blue  grass  and  redtop,  while  they  are  seen 
without  difficulty  on  heads  of  timothy  and  wild  rye. 

Ergot  poisoning  generally  makes  its  appearance  in  late  winter 
or  early  spring  with  cattle  in  poor  condition  that  are  subsisting 
wholly  or  largely  upon  hay.  It  announces  its  presence  by  a  dis- 
eased condition  of  the  limbs,  the  extremities  of  which  are  cold 
and  almost  lifeless.  The  trouble  may  continue  until  the  hoofs 
slough  off  with  dry  gangrene.  Cattle  that  are  affected  should 
have  their  feed  changed  at  once  to  remove  the  cause  of  the  trouble; 
they  should  be  warmly  housed  and  given  a  variety  of  nourish- 
ing feed. 

Stalker  2  affirms  that  cattle  fed  corn  are  never  poisoned  by 
ergot, — probably  because  this  feed  is  nourishing  and  furnishes 
an  abundance  of  heat  to  the  body.  (177) 

1  For  account  of  ergot  and  ergotism  see  article  Ergota,  National  Dis- 
pensatory; also  Special  Report  on  Diseases  of  Cattle  and  Cattle  Feeding, 
Report  Bureau  Animal  Industry,  1895-6.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Washington. 

2  Bui.  17,  Iowa  Sta. 


CHAPTEE  XH. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOE  GREEN  FORAGE  AND  HAY. 

Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Green  forage. 
Red   clover   at    different 
stages                           

Lbs. 

29.2 
25.2 
19.1 
28.2 
16.4 
24.9 

84.7 
78.8 
90.3 
90.3 
90.4 
91.6 
89.3 
89.9 
86.4 

Lbs. 

2.9 
2.7 
2.4 
3.9 
1.8 
3.2 

6.8 
5.7 
8.4 
11.5 
10.5 
11.0 
10.8 
2.3 
4.3 

Lbs. 

14.8 
13.1 
9.1 
12.7 
8.7 
11.0 

35.8 
32.0 
42.5 
42.2 
34.9 
39.6 
38.6 
40.0 
32.3 

Lbs. 

0.7 
0.6 
0.5 
0.5 
0.2 
0.5 

1.7 
1.9 
1.5 
1.5 
1.2 
1.2 
1.1 
1.0 
0.8 

Lbs. 

5.3 
4.4 
4.3 
7.2 
2.7 
2.9 

20.7 
22.3 
23.4 
27.5 
20.5 
21.9 
19.5 
17.5 
14.3 

Lbs. 

1.3 
1.1 
1.3 
1.3 
3.0 
1.5 

3.8 
5.5 
6.7 
5.2 
4.0 
5.1 
5.2 
4.0 
3.5 

Lbs. 

4.6 
2.0 
4.9 
5.6 
3.1 
5.3 

22.0 
12.2 
22.3 
18.1 
13.1 
16.8 
14.7 
13.2 
10.2 

Alsike  bloom  

Crimson  clover  

Alfalfa  

Cowpea  

Sola  bean                    

Hay  and  straw. 
Red  clover,  medium  

Red  clover,  mammoth  
Alsike  clover 

\Vhite  clover      

Alfalfa  

Cowpea 

Soja-bean  straw.            .  .  .. 

Pea-vine  straw.  

284.  Concerning  legumes. —  The  prominent  characteristic  of 
the  true  grasses,  including  the  corn  plant,  is  their  large  content 
of  carbohydrates  with  a  meager  amount  of  protein;  in  the  legumes 
we  have  a  relatively  large  proportion  of  protein  to  carbohydrates 
and  fat.  Each  of  these  great  groups  of  agricultural  plants,  then, 
presents  to  the  feeder  what  the  other  lacks,  and  so  are  comple- 
mentary to  each  other. 

The  highest  use  of  the  corn  plant  is  bearing  grain,  with  a  large 
secondary  place  in  supplying  forage.  In  the  legumes  we  have 
for  the  most  part  forage  plants  only,  the  seeds  being  generally  too 
small  to  be  useful  for  food,  though  beans  and  peas  are  an  excep- 
tion. Another  marked  difference  between  the  legumes  and  the 
grasses,  including  the  cereals,  is  their  after  or  residual  effect  upon 


196 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


the  soil.  "When  the  latter  have  been  grown  for  a  period  upon  a 
tract  they  have  exhausted  its  fertility  in  some  measure.  Where 
clover  is  grown,  although  much  fertility  is  removed  with  the  crop, 
the  land  still  seems  in  excellent  heart  for  other  crops  which  follow. 

The  discovery  that  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  air  can  be  fixed  by 
the  legumes  and  turned  over  to  the  soil,  thus  securing  without 
cost  to  the  farmer  one  of  the  most  precious  elements  so  largely 
required  by  plants,  has  at  last  explained  what  was  so  long  a 
mystery,  and  should  make  us  doubly  appreciative  of  these  most 
useful  plants. 

In  the  northeastern  United  States  the  clovers  are  the  commonly 
cultivated  leguminous  plants.  In  the  southern  portion  of  our 
country,  crimson  and  Japan  clover,  the  cowpea,  soja  bean  and 
other  legumes  flourish,  while  the  whole  western  half  of  the  United 
States  is  served  by  that  wonderful  representative,  the  alfalfa  or 
lucern  plant. 

285.  Red  clover. —  This  plant  is  found  on  every  well-regulated 
farm  in  the  northeastern  United  States,  where  with  grasses  it 
stands  prominent  in  rotation  with  corn  and  the  cereals.  Eed 
clover  serves  for  both  pasture  and  hay  purposes,  yielding  large 
returns. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station,1  Woll,  cutting  clover  three  times 
during  the  season,  secured  the  results  given  below: 

Yield  of  three  crops  of  red  clover — Wisconsin  Station. 


Date  of  cutting. 

Green 
clover. 

Dry 

matter. 

Dry 

matter. 

First  crop  May  29                                

Lbs. 
29,220 

Per  cent. 
8  2 

Lbs. 
2,402 

Second  crop  July  16    

16,020 

22  5 

3,599 

Third  crop,  Sept.  1  

7,221 

27.5 

1,986 

Here  is  a  yield  of  over  twenty-five  tons  of  green  forage  per 
acre,  which  may  be  regarded  as  representing  the  maximum 
return  for  this  crop.  From  one-half  to  two- thirds  this  amount 
may  be  relied  upon  by  the  stockman  as  a  fair  crop  under  practical 
conditions. 


Kept.  1889. 


Leguminous  Plants  for  Green  Forage  and  Hay. 


197 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  first  crop  contained  but  8.2  per  cent,  of 
dry  matter,  or  less  than  is  found  in  skim  milk.  It  is  evident  that 
this  crop  was  cut  some  time  before  it  had  reached  the  proper 
maturity  for  making  hay.  Here  is  an  explanation  why  early-cut 
green  clover,  when  used  for  soiling  cattle,  often  gives  such  un- 
satisfactory returns;  such  forage  is  mostly  water,  and  the  cattle 
receiving  it  cannot  consume  enough  to  gain  the  nourishment  they 
require.  The  total  dry  matter  of  the  three  crops  amounted  to 
nearly  four  tons  —  a  most  satisfactory  showing. 

286.  Development  of  nutrients  in  the  clover  plant. —  Hunt,  of 
the  Illinois  Station, l  has  arranged  the  results  of  studies  relating 
to  the  development  of  the  clover  plant  for  hay  production,  con- 
ducted by  himself  and  others,  in  tables,  portions  of  which  are 
here  presented: 

Yield  of  hay,  and  nutrients  in  the  same,  from  the  clover  plant  cut  at 
different  stages  —  various  Stations. 


Stage  of  growth  at  time  of 
cutting. 

Fresh 
sub- 
stance. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitro- 
gen-free 
extract. 

Ash. 

Medium  red  clover. 
Illinois  (Hunt). 
Full  bloom 

Lbs. 
3  600 

Lbs. 
400 

Lbs. 
197 

Lbs. 

660 

Lbs. 
1  052 

Lbs. 
217 

Three-fourths  heads  dead  

3,260 

379 

156 

672 

1,024 

196 

Pennsylvania  (Jordan). 
Heads  in  bloom 

4  210 

539 

116 

1,033 

1  731 

260 

Some  heads  dead  

4  141 

469 

106 

1,248 

1,379 

226 

Heads  all  dead  

3  915 

421 

94 

1,260 

1,378 

208 

Connecticut  (At  water). 
Just  before  bloom 

1  618 

198 

24 

384 

664 

115 

Full  bloom  

1  641 

189 

33 

390 

682 

107 

Nearly  out  of  bloom  

2,054 

230 

31 

523 

837 

129 

Nearly  ripe  

1  802 

158 

36 

484 

746 

99 

Mammoth  red  clover. 
Illinois  (Hunt). 
Beginning  to  bloom 

4  340 

443 

212 

971 

1  317 

252 

Full  bloom  

5,440 

519 

237 

1,404 

1,612 

266 

Nearly  out  of  bloom  

4,213 

386 

173 

1,110 

1,504 

218 

We  observe  that  clover  gave  the  largest  returns  of  protein 
when  the  heads  were  in  full  bloom  or  just  past  that  stage.  When 
the  crop  stood  until  some  of  the  heads  were  dead  or  later,  the 

1  Bui.  5. 


198  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

protein  content  was  materially  reduced,  and  with  the  heads  all 
dead  it  was  still  further  diminished.  There  was  also  a  diminution 
in  the  ether  extract  and  ash  after  the  full-bloom  stage  of  develop- 
ment was  passed.  The  nitrogen-free  extract,  carrying  the  most 
valuable  carbohydrates,  was  also  materially  lessened  after  the 
plant  had  passed  the  full-bloom  stage.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
crude  fiber,  which  renders  hay  woody  and  is  the  least  valuable 
portion,  was  increased  in  the  period  between  full  bloom  and  the 
time  when  the  heads  were  all  dead.  Probably  much  of  the  loss 
in  nutrients  at  this  time  was  through  the  leaves  and  finer  parts  of 
the  plant  falling  off  and  wasting  on  the  ground. 

287.  The  proper  time  for  cutting  clover. —  The  table  just  given 
throws  much  light  on  this  important  topic,  and  clearly  points  to 
full  bloom  as  theoretically  the  best  time  for  cutting  clover  for  hay. 
If  cut  before  bloom  the  amount  of  water  in  the  crop  is  so  excess- 
ive that  the  process  of  hay  making  is  slow  and  unsatisfactory.     If 
delayed  until  the  blossom  heads  are  all  brown,  the  conversion  into 
hay  is  much  simplified,  for  the  plants  have  then  parted  with  much 
of  the  water  they  carry  while  developing,  and  are  consequently 
easily  dried.     But  such  hay,  as  shown  by  the  table,  has  lost  much 
of  its  valuable  protein  and  carbohydrates.     Practice  and  theory, 
then,  combine  in  setting  the  period  when  one-third  of  the  clover 
heads  are  turning  brown,  as  the  best,  all  factors  considered,  for 
hay  making. 

288.  Methods  of  clover  hay  making. —  Hay  making  from  clover 
has  fallen  into  three  lines,  each  of  which  has  its  advantages  accord- 
ing to  locality  and  weather  conditions.     Under  the  first  system 
the  clover  is  mown  as  soon  as  the  dew  is  off,  and  by  frequent  ted- 
dings  and  turnings,  aided  by  bright,  hot  sunshine,  it  is  ready  for 
raking  in  the  afternoon,  and  housing  before  five  o'  clock,  at  which 
time  the  gathering  dew  shuts  off  further  operations.     Under  this 
system  the  clover  plant  must  be  well  ripened,  indeed  past  its 
prime,  for  hay,  and  the  weather  very  favorable,  if  good  results 
are  to  be  secured. 

The  second  system  differs  from  the  first  only  in  cutting  the 
clover  so  late  in  the  afternoon  that  the  dew  does  not  materially 
affect  the  plants  because  they  have  as  yet  wilted  but  little.  The 


Leguminous  Plants  for  Green  Forage  and  Hay. 


199 


following  day  hay  making  proceeds  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the 
crop  being  placed  under  cover  before  night- fall. 

Under  the  third  system  clover  is  cut  after  the  dew  is  off  and 
remains  without  tedding  until  afternoon,  when  it  is  gathered  into 
windrows,  and  from  these  into  bunches  or  cocks  before  the  dew 
falls,  which  stand  several  days,  undergoing  a  sweating  process. 
After  sweating  they  are  opened  in  flakes,  which  give  off  their 
moisture  rapidly,  and  the  material  is  soon  ready  for  the  barn. 
Hay  curing  in  cocks  is  often  protected  by  muslin  covers  or  caps, 
which  are  useful  in  protecting  the  bunches  from  rain. 

Whichever  system  is  adopted,  too  great  care  cannot  be  exer- 
cised in  preserving  the  finer  parts  of  the  plant,  which  are  liable 
to  be  wasted,  leaving  only  the  coarse,  woody  stems  to  be  gathered. 
Under  all  systems  of  hay  production  the  clover  plant  should  not 
be  placed  in  barn  or  stack  when  carrying  external  moisture,  either 
dew  or  rain.  This  foreign  moisture  appears  to  be  more  detri- 
mental in  the  curing  of  hay  than  the  natural  sap  of  the  plant. 

289.  Losses  in  curing. —  According  to  Wolff, l  from  twenty-five 
to  forty  per  cent,  of  the  dry  substance  of  clover  hay  can  be  ex- 
tracted by  cold  water.  Eitthausen  cured  one  sample  of  clover 
hay  quickly  and  allowed  another  to  lie  a  fortnight  in  the  rain. 
The  composition  of  the  two  samples  was  as  follows: 

Composition  of  good  clover  hay  and  that  injured  by  rain  —  Ritthausen. 


Not  rained, 
upon. 

Rained 
upon. 

Water  :  

Per  cent. 
16  0 

Per  cent 
16  0 

Protein  

14.6 

15  8 

Crude  fiber  

25  3 

37.4 

Nitrogen-free  and  ether  extracts 

36  1 

23  4 

Ash  

8  0 

7  5 

We  see  that  the  sample  rained  upon  contained  more  protein  than 
did  the  one  which  was  well  preserved.  Evidently  much  more  of 
the  nitrogen- free  extract  than  protein  is  removed  by  soaking  the 
hay  with  water.  This  explains  the  fact  so  often  noticed  in  prac- 

1  Farm  Foods,  Cousins,  p.  160. 


200  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

tice,  that  clover  hay  apparently  rich  in  protein  may  have  little 
value  owing  to  the  large  quantity  of  crude  fiber  and  the  small 
amount  of  nitrogen-free  extract  it  contains.  Contrary  to  the  show- 
ing made  above,  a  large  portion  of  protein  is  often  removed  from 
hay  when  soaked  by  rain.  (304) 

290.  Spontaneous  combustion. —  It  seems  beyond  question  that 
barns  containing  clover  hay  and  stacks  of  the  same  are  occasion- 
ally consumed  by  fire  originating  through  spontaneous  combus- 
tion.    The  subject  though  an  old  one  is  still  involved  in  mystery. 
Cohn,  of  Breslau, l  considers  that  spontaneous  combustion  in  hay 
is  produced  through  the  action  of  a  mould  fungus.   .  - 

Reviewing  the  many  experiences  reported, 2  it  seems  that  there 
is  danger  from  spontaneous  combustion  only  in  seasons  when  the 
clover  plant  contains  an  unusual  amount  of  moisture  at  haying 
time,  or  when  the  hay  material  carries  to  stack  or  barn  more  or 
less  water  foreign  to  it,  i.  e.,  rain  or  dew. 

291.  Use  of  clover  hay. —  Clover  hay  is  not  usually  considered  a 
satisfactory  roughage  for  the  horse,  the  dust  it  carries  proving 
very  detrimental  to  that  animal.     A  limited  amount  of  good 
clover  hay  may,  however,  be  fed  to  horses  of  all  kinds  with  favor- 
able results. 

For  the  cow  there  is  no  better  roughage  than  good  clover  hay. 
It  furnishes  the  large  amount  of  protein  and  ash  essential  to  milk, 
and  is  palatable  and  much  relished.  With  well- cured  clover 
hay  forming  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  the  roughage  of  the  ration, 
the  dairyman  is  able  to  cut  down  the  allowance  of  concentrated 
feed,  thus  reducing  the  cost  of  the  ration.  (653)  For  growing 
calves  and  young  stock  clover  hay  is  most  important.  If  it  is  more 
essential  one  place  than  another,  probably  the  shepherd  has  first 
claim  to  clover  hay,  for  his  animals  of  all  degrees  will  not  give 
as  favorable  returns  from  any  other  form  of  roughage. 

For  soiling  purposes  clover  holds  an  important  place,  since  the 
crop  is  available  early  in  the  season  and  is  highly  relished  by 
cattle.  The  writer  secured  a  yield  of  clover  used  for  soiling  pur- 
poses of  27,000  pounds  per  acre  in  three  cuttings.  (365)  At 

1  Veterinary  Journal,  31,  p.  310. 

2  See  various  articles  in  Breeder's  Gazette,  1889. 


Leguminous  Plants  for  Green  Forage  and  Hay.  201 

the  Pennsylvania  Station, J  yields  of  six  to  seven  tons  in  one  case 
and  over  thirteen  tons  in  another  are  reported. 

For  pigs,  clover  pasture  serves  an  excellent  purpose,  building 
good  bone  and  a  framework  capable  of  taking  on  fat  rapidly  when 
the  period  of  receiving  concentrated  food  arrives.  We  can  find  no 
records  of  the  yields  of  clover  fields  when  devoted  to  the  pastur- 
age of  swine.  Our  Stations  should  report  experiments  on  this 
point.  In  feeding  green  clover  one  should  always  have  in  mind 
its  extreme  succulence,  and  that  the  quantity  which  the  animal 
is  capable  of  consuming  may  not  contain  the  requisite  nourish- 
ment if  the  plants  are  very  succulent. 

Bloat  or  hoven  menaces  cattle  and  sheep  pastured  on  the  clover 
field.  To  avoid  this  the  cattle  should  not  be  turned  to  pasture 
while  very  hungry  or  before  the  dew  has  risen.  Further,  some 
dry  forage,  such  as  hay  or  straw,  should  be  placed  in  feed  racks 
in  the  pasture.  To  this  cattle  and  sheep  will  resort  when  threat- 
ened with  bloat.  It  is  said  that  if  cattle  and  sheep  can  have 
access  to  dry  roughage  while  feeding  on  pasture,  they  will  not 
suffer  from  this  ailment. 

292.  Mammoth  clover. —  The  distinctive  characteristics  of  mam- 
moth clover  are  its  rank  growth,  coarse  stems,  and  the  feature  of 
blooming  two  or  three  weeks  later  than  the  medium  variety.    This 
variety  yields  but  one  cutting  during  the  season,  and  because 
of  this  the  field  is  frequently  used  for  pasture  for  several  weeks 
in  the  spring.    After  removing  the  stock  the  plants  shoot  up 
and  soon  are  ready  for  the  mower.     Wallace  2  recommends  that 
medium  and  mammoth  clover  seed  be  sown  in  equal  proportions, 
together  with  grasses  for  pasture,  holding  that  since  the  mammoth 
variety  blooms  later,  there  is  more  nearly  a  succession  of  good 
forage  than  is  possible  with  only  one  variety. 

293.  Alsike  clover. —  This  variety  of  clover  has  weak  stems, 
which  fall  to  the  ground  unless  supported  by  attendant  grasses. 
Well-made  alsike  hay  ranks  with  the  best,  though  the  yield  is  not 
large.     At  the  Illinois  Station,3  Hunt  and  Morrow  secured  1.2 
tons  of  alsike  hay  against  2.1  tons  of  medium  clover  hay  per  acre. 

1  Kept.  1888-89. 

2  "Clover  Culture." 
8  Bui.  15. 


202  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

This  variety  of  clover  flourishes  on  land  too  moist  for  other 
clovers,  though  it  will  not  grow  in  really  wet  soils.  While  red 
clover  usually  dies  out  the  second  year,  alsike  stands  for  many 
years,  this  feature  increasing  its  value  for  pasture  purposes. 

294.  Scarlet   or   crimson    clover. —  This  clover  is  an  annual, 
resembling  the  wheat  plant  in  this  phase  of  its  habits.     If  sown 
in  late  summer  or  early  fall,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  United 
States  it  grows  somewhat  during  the  winter,  and  with  the  coming 
of  spring  advances  rapidly  to  the  hay  period,  which  is  reached 
by  late  spring,  after  which  the  plants  die.     In  making  its  round 
of  growth  in  the  fall  and  spring,  crimson  clover  resembles  winter 
wheat.     On  the  other  hand,  if  sown  in  spring  it  blossoms  in  late 
summer,  matures  its  seeds  and  dies,  thus  following  the  habit  of 
spring  wheat.     The  winter  form  of  this  plant  has  flourished  with 
remarkable  success  from  Delaware1  southward  to  the  Carolinas. 2 
Crimson  clover  can  be  grown  throughout  the  Southern  states  as 
a  winter  plant,   but  its  use  has  not  yet  become  general.     The 
Northern  states  are  too  cold  for  fall-sown  crimson  clover,  but  it 
may  be  used  as  a  summer  crop  with  some  advantage,  though 
generally  it  is  inferior  to  red  clover.     Wherever  it  flourishes, 
crimson  clover  will  be  found  useful  for  soiling  purposes,  and  if 
cut  early  it  makes  hay  of  fair  quality. 

295.  Danger  to  horses  from  overripe  crimson  clover. —  The  blos- 
som heads  of  crimson  clover  are  covered  with  minute  hairs,  which 
become  rigid  as  the  heads  ripen.     Investigations  conducted  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture, 3  Washington,  show  that  death  may 
result  to  horses  when  fed  overripe  crimson  clover.     A  circular 
from  the  Department  states:     "If  overripe  crimson  clover  is  fed 
to  horses,  the  bristly  hairs  (of  the  heads)  will  accumulate  in  the 
stomach  or  intestines  in  spherical  balls,  which  are  increased  in 
size  by  repeated  additions  of  the  same  matter  to  their  surfaces, 
the  whole  mass  tending  to  become  more  compact  because  most  of 
the  hairs,  upwardly  barbed,  are  constantly  pushing  toward  the 
center,  base  foremost.     When  a  ball  has  reached  a  sufficient  size 
(whether  after  a  few  days  or  several  weeks  we  have  no  means  of 

1  Bui.  16,  Del.  Sta. 

2  Bui.  73,  North  Car.  Sta. 

3  Circular  No.  8,  Div.  of  Botany,  1896. 


Leguminous  Plants  for  Green  Forage  and  Hay.          203 

knowing),  it  acts  as  a  plug  in  the  intestine,  interfering  with  the 
vital  functions,  and  finally,  after  a  few  hours  of  intense  suffering, 
the  horse  dies  from  peritonitis  or  some  related  difficulty." 

There  seems  no  cure  for  this  ailment.  It  can  be  avoided  by 
curing  crimson  clover  into  hay  at  the  proper  stage  for  making 
that  product.  Hay  from  overripe  crimson  clover,  and  the  refuse 
left  when  seed  is  threshed,  should  not  be  fed  to  horses. 

296.  Japan  clover. —  This  plant  has  proved  most  helpful  to 
Southern  agriculture  because  it  adds  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  binds  it 
together,  prevents  washing,  and  furnishes  a  nutritious  food  for 
stock.     On  sterile  land  it  yields  pasture  only,  while  under  favor- 
able conditions  it  reaches  a  height  of  from  twenty  to  thirty 
inches,  furnishing  as  much  as  three  tons  of  hay  per  acre,  which, 
according  to  Tracy, l  is  equal  to  the  best  clover  hay.   (650) 

297.  Burr  clover. —  This  plant  is  best  known  in   California, 
where,  growing  wild,  it  furnishes  abundant  winter  pasture.     Tracy 
recommends  its  use  in  the  South.     Its  best  growth  is  from  Feb- 
ruary to  May,  after  which  it  disappears.     Harrington,  of  the 
Texas  Station,2  reports  the  plant  in  favor  with  cattle,  but  not 
relished  by  horses. 

298.  Alfalfa  or  lucern. —  This  plant  flourishes  in  the  western 
half  of  the  United  States,  and  is  of  even  more  importance  to  that 
vast  region  than  is  red  clover  to  the  eastern  United  States.     In 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  California,  alfalfa  reaches  its  highest  per- 
fection, yielding  under  the  hot  suns  on  the  alluvial  soils  of  that 
district  from  five  to  seven  cuttings  of  from  one  to  two  tons  each, 
annually.   In  Colorado  and  Utah  two  to  three  cuttings  are  obtained. 
In  the  humid  region,  especially  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  alfalfa  is 
grown  to  a  limited  extent,  interest  in  the  crop  having  much 
increased  of  late.     It  is  also  gaining  favor  in  the  East  as  the 
farmers  learn  to  grow  it. 

299.  Yield  of  alfalfa.— At  the  New  York  (Geneva)  Station,* 
Wheeler  reports  the  following  yields  of  alfalfa  cut  four  times  dur- 
ing the  season  for  soiling: 

1  Bui.  20,  Miss.  Sta. 

2  Bui.  20. 

3  Bui.  118. 


204 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Yield  of  alfalfa  during  three  years  —  New  York  (Geneva}  Station. 


Year. 

Actual 
area. 

Green 
weight. 

Dry 

matter. 

Protein. 

Albu- 
minoids. 

Date  of  first 
cutting. 

Acres. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1894.. 

2.3 

64,596 

17,034 

2,574 

2,068 

June  1. 

1894.. 

1.3 

33,803 

8,116 

1,660 

1,278 

May  11. 

1895.. 

1.3 

37,129 

8,666 

1,452 

1,120 

May  15. 

1896.. 

1.3 

34,991 

8,527 

1,522 

1,167 

May  27. 

1896.. 

1.25 

36,514 

7,461 

1,302 

1,054 

May  12. 

Here  are  returns  of  fourteen  tons  of  green  forage  per  acre,  with 
dry  matter  exceeding  three  tons.  The  date  of  first  cutting  is  a 
point  of  much  interest  to  stockmen,  especially  dairymen  who 
practice  soiling.  "We  learn  that  in  1894  the  first  plants  were 
ready  for  soiling  May  11,  thus  furnishing  very  early  forage. 

300.  Iowa  experience  with  alfalfa. —  At  the  Iowa  Station,1  Cur- 
tis reports  alfalfa  under  trial.  The  same  season  after  seeding  in 
the  spring,  two  tons  of  hay  were  secured  in  three  cuttings;  the 
second  season  the  total  of  three  cuttings,  made  June  1,  July  7, 
and  September  3,  was  as  follows  for  plats  seeded  by  different 
methods: 


Upland, 

Bottom, 

tons. 

tons. 

Plat     I.    Broadcast 

5  3 

5.52 

Plat  II.    Drilled  one  way 

5  18 

5.52 

Plat  III.    Cross  drilled  

5.25 

5.12 

Plat  IV.    Press  drilled.... 

5.08 

4.22 

The  third  cutting  was  from  five  to  ten  per  cent,  lighter  than  the 
first  two,  which  were  practically  equal.  The  hay  was  found  to 
be  of  excellent  quality,  apparently  no  more  difficult  to  cure  than 
that  from  clover.  Further  experience  is  necessary  to  determine 
whether  this  plant  will  stand  winter  conditions  in  Iowa,  but  at  the 
date  of  reporting  all  was  favorable. 

301.  Alfalfa  compared  with  corn. —  At  the  Colorado  Station,8 
Cooke  compared  a  crop  of  dent  corn  from  one  acre  of  land  with 
returns  from  a  like  area  of  alfalfa  three  years  seeded  on  an  adjoin- 
ing plat.  The  corn  crop  was  a  fair  one,  equaling  fourteen  tons  of 

1  Bui.  34. 

2  Bui.  26. 


Leguminous  Plants  for  Green  Forage  and  Hay. 


205 


green  forage  per  acre.  The  alfalfa  was  cut  three  times,  yielding 
4, 600  pounds  of  hay  at  the  first  cutting,  3,  350  pounds  the  second, 
and  3,250  pounds  at  the  third  cutting,  or  a  total  of  5.6  tons  of  hay 
per  acre.  The  total  digestible  nutrients  of  the  two  crops  are  pre- 
sented in  the  following  table: 

Comparative  yield  of  corn  forage  and  alfalfa  hay  —  Colorado  Station. 


. 

Total. 

Digestible. 

Corn. 

Alfalfa. 

Corn. 

Alfalfa. 

Dry  matter  

Lbs. 

5,539 
405 
3,263 
1,472 
84 
315 

Lbs. 

10,304 
1,602 

4,782 
2,800 
246 
829 

Lbs. 

3,605 
296 
2,186 
1,060 
63 

Lbs. 

5,611 
1,198 
3,114 
1,198 
101 

Albuminoids  

Starch,  sugar,  etc  

Fiber 

Ether  extract  .  . 

Ash  

It  will  be  seen  that  the  alfalfa  yielded  nearly  twice  as  many 
pounds  of  dry  matter  as  the  corn,  with  the  digestible  nutrients  far 
in  the  lead.  The  protein  of  the  alfalfa  was  three  times  that  of  the 
corn. 

302.  Nutrients  in  the  alfalfa  crop. —  At  the  Utah  Station,1 
Widtsoe  made  a  study  of  the  nutrients  of  the  alfalfa  crop,  and 
iome  of  the  facts  gathered  are  presented  in  the  following  table: 

Nutrients  per  acre  in  three  cuttings  of  alfalfa  —  Utah  Station. 
First  Cutting. 


Condition  of  growth. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Nitrogen- 
free  ex- 
tract. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Ether 
extract. 

Ash. 

May  4. 

Height,  6  J  inches 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

607 

Lbs. 
168 

Lbs. 
40 

Lbs. 
167 

June  1. 
Height,  18  inches  

697 

1,247 

618 

103 

369 

July  7. 
Full  flower  

745 

2,278 

2  108 

118 

431 

Aug.  10. 
Flowers  fallen,  leaves  dry  
Aug.  24. 
Still  drier  

644 

428 

2,298 
1  776 

2,531 
2  544 

116 
94 

423 
311 

1  Bui.  48. 


206 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 
Second  Cutting. 


July  7. 
Budding. 

334 

657 

357 

50 

197 

July  20. 
Medium  bloom  

519 

1,140 

1,031 

78 

314 

Aug.  3. 
Full  flower 

551 

1  529 

1  316 

81 

323 

Aug.  24. 
Leaves  dry  

388 

1,484 

1,329 

81 

333 

Third  Cutting. 


Aug.  17  

138 

317 

155 

17 

85 

Auff  31 

322 

757 

634 

33 

211 

Sept.  14 

298 

934 

818 

43 

214 

Widtsoe  concludes  that  to  insure  a  large  yield  of  dry  matter 
and  albuminoids,  alfalfa  should  be  cut  not  earlier  than  the  period 
of  middle  bloom,  and  that  the  blossoms  should  not  be  past  full 
bloom.  This  is  from  two  to  three  weeks  after  the  flower  buds 
appear. 

303.  Losses  in  hay  making. —  Headden,  of  the  Colorado  Sta- 
tion, l  found  that  "  a  very  leafy,  small-stemmed  alfalfa  plant  may 
have  more  than  60  per  cent,  of  leaves,  and,  consequently,  less  than 
40  per  cent,  of  stems,  but  the  stems  of  an  average  plant  will  amount 
to  between  40  and  60  per  cent.     .     .     .     Inasmuch  as  many  of  the 
smaller  stems  may  go  with  the  leaves,  the  loss  in  hay  making 
can,  and  in  some  cases  does,  amount  to  from  50  to  60  and  even 
more  per  cent.     .     .     .     We  have  been  led  by  our  experience 
and  observation  to  the  conclusion  that  the  minimum  loss  from  the 
falling  off  of  leaves  and  stems  in  successful  hay  making  amounts 
to  from  15  to  20  per  cent.,  and  in  cases  where  the  conditions  have 
been  unfavorable  to  as  much  as  60  and  even  66  per  cent,  of  the 
dry  crop,  or,  for  each  1,700  pounds  of  hay  taken  off  the  field,  at 
least  300  pounds  of  leaves  and  small  stems  are  left,  and,  in  very 
bad  cases,  as  much  as  1,200  pounds  may  be  left  for  each  800 
pounds  taken.     Of  course,  the  latter  is  extreme,  but  it  does  occa- 
sionally happen  even  in  this  land  of  perpetual  sunshine. ' ' 

304.  Damage  to  alfalfa  hay  from  rain. —  Headden  studied  the 
losses  in  alfalfa  hay  due  to  bad  weather.     One  sample  of  hay  re- 

*  Bui.  35. 


Leguminous  Plants  for  Green  Forage  and  Hay.  207 

mained  out  fifteen  days,  during  which  time  it  was  subjected  to  three 
rain  storms,  amounting  in  all  to  1.76  inches.  The  other  sample 
was  from  hay  cured  without  injury  by  rain.  Samples  of  this  hay 
were  analyzed  with  the  results  shown  below: 

Hay  not  Hay 

damaged.  damaged. 

Ash 12.2  per  cent.  12.7  per  cent. 

Crude  fiber 26.5  per  cent.  38.8  percent, 

Etherextract 3.9  percent.  3.8percent. 

Protein 18.7  per  cent.  11.0  percent. 

Nitrogen-free  extract 38.7  per  cent.  33.6  per  cent. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  crude  fiber,  the  poorest  part  of  the  hay, 
was  increased,  and  the  protein  and  nitrogen-free  extract,  the 
more  valuable  portions,  were  materially  reduced  by  weathering. 
Headden  concludes  that  the  estimate  of  farmers  that  storms  re- 
duce the  value  of  hay  one- half  is  reasonable.  (289) 

305.  Alfalfa  in  the  eastern  United  States. —  Attempts  to  grow 
alfalfa  in  the  Eastern  states  have  generally  ended  in  failure.     The 
wonderful  results  obtained  in  the  West  have  served  to  keep  alive 
an  interest  in  this  plant  and  stimulated  renewed  trials  from 
time  to  time.     The  results  obtained  by  several  Stations  show  that 
large  returns  are  possible  under  favorable  conditions.     In  search- 
ing for  the  causes  of  failure,  it  appears  that  the  most  general  one 
is  insufficient  care  in  securing  a  good  stand  of  plants.     To  reach 
this  end  the  ground  seeded  to  alfalfa  must  be  free  from  weed- 
seeds,  so  that  the  young  plants,  which  are  weak  when  they  first 
spring  up,  may  grow  untrammeled.     The  desired  end  will  be  ac- 
complished by  summer-fallowing  the  proposed  alfolfa  field  for  one 
season  in  order  to  reduce  the  soil  to  proper  fineness,  and  especially 
to  sprout  and  kill  all  weed-seeds  lying  near  the  surface.     The 
following  spring  sow  from  twenty  to  thirty  pounds  of  alfalfa  seed 
in  drills  or  cover  lightly  with  a  harrow. 

306.  Manner  of  growth. —  The  alfalfa  plant  is  a  gross  feeder, 
its  tap  root  reaching  many  feet  into  the  soil.     Headden,  of  the 
Colorado  Station, l  found  alfalfa  roots  twelve  and  one-half  feet 
below  the  surface.     This  indicates  that  the  plant  should  have  a 
.subsoil  through  which  the  roots  may  pass,  with  water  not  nearer 

1  Bui.  35. 


208  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

than  six  feet.  A  gravelly  or  sandy  subsoil  affords  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  for  downward  root  growth,  though  they  are  not 
absolutely  essential.  Although  under  favorable  circumstances  a 
fair  crop  of  hay  may  be  secured  the  first  season,  alfalfa  requires 
two  or  three  years  to  become  well  established. 

Headden  reports  from  actual  count  on  small  areas  that  the  num- 
ber of  alfalfa  plants  per  acre  varied  from  70,000  on  a  field  in 
poor  condition  to  653,000  on  one  seeded  six  months  before,  and 
526,000  on  a  field  ten  years  established,  the  latter  yielding  four 
tons  of  hay  per  acre. 

307.  Alfalfa  for  pasture. —  This  plant  is  extensively  used  for 
pasture  in  the  West,  especially  in  the  Salt  Eiver  Valley,  Arizona, 
where  large  numbers  of  cattle  and  swine  are  successfully  grazed 
upon  it.     The  hoofs  of  farm  animals  work  injury  to  the  crowns  of 
the  plant,  and  this  shortens  the  life  of  the  alfalfa  field  given  over 
to  pasturage.     Sheep  crop  the  tender  sprouts  too  closely.     Where 
possible  it  is  better  to  use  the  mower  and  carry  the  forage  to  the 
animals.     With  cattle  and  sheep  feeding  on  green  alfalfa,  there 
is  always  danger  from  bloat,  against  which  precautions  must  be 
taken.   (291) 

At  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College, l  Shelton,  pasturing  pigs 
on  half  an  acre  of  alfalfa  during  the  summer,  fed  1,760  pounds  of 
corn  additional,  and  secured  a  gain  of  717  pounds.  Allowing  329 
pounds  as  the  probable  product  from  the  corn,  there  remains  to 
the  credit  of  the  half  acre  of  alfalfa  388  pounds  of  gain.  (875) 

308.  Alfalfa  hay. —  In  making  hay  from  this  plant  the  greatest 
care  should  be  exercised  in  saving  the  leaves  and  finer  parts,  so 
easily  wasted.     The  green  plants  cut  with  the  mower  should  be 
gathered  when  partly  dry  with  the  hay  rake  into  windrows  suf- 
ficiently loose  to  dry  still  more,  but  compact  enough  to  hold  the 
leaves  and  finer  parts.     Hay  making  from  alfalfa  cannot  be  taught 
by  books,  but  the  figures  presented  by  the  Colorado  Station  show- 
ing the  possible  losses  in  hay  making  should  incite  the  farmer  and 
stockman  to  a  careful  study  of  the  principles  underlying  success- 
ful practice  in  handling  the  crop.     There  is  no  more  palatable 
roughage  for  farm  animals  than  good  alfalfa  hay.     This  hay  is  best 

iRep.  Prof,  of  Agr.,  1884. 


Leguminous  Plants  for  Green  Forage  and  Hay.  209 

suited  for  dairy  cows,  fattening  sheep  and  fattening  cattle,  though, 
it  is  used  to  a  limited  extent  for  horse  feeding.  The  large  amount 
of  protein  contained  in  the  plant,  either  green  or  cured,  makes  it 
possible  for  the  feeder  to  properly  maintain  his  animals  upon 
alfalfa  with  but  a  limited  allowance  of  grain  or  other  feeding 
stuff.  (822) 

309.  Cowpea. —  This  plant  is  used  in  the  South  more  largely 
for  renovating  the  soil  than  for  forage,  yet  it  has  considerable 
value  for  the  latter  purpose.     The  following  yields  per  acre  are 
reported  from  the  Georgia  Station1  by  Bedding:  13,020  pounds 
of  green  matter,  2,618  pounds  of  dry  matter,  and  840  pounds  of 
seed. 

At  the  South  Carolina  Station, 2  McBryde  reports  a  yield  of  3.6 
tons  of  cowpea  hay  per  acre.  Analyses  showed  that  this  forage 
contained  more  than  twice  the  digestible  nutrients  harvested  in 
an  acre  of  oats  yielding  40  bushels,  and  more  than  40  per  cent, 
more  than  an  acre  of  corn  yielding  30  bushels. 

The  Southern  farmer  has  large  use  for  this  plant  by  sowing  late 
after  oats  or  wheat,  or  in  the  corn  field  as  a  catch  crop.  The  cow- 
pea  vine  may  be  mixed  with  corn  forage  for  making  silage.  Vir- 
ginia and  Kansas  mark  the  northern  limit  of  profitable  culture 
for  the  cowpea  in  general,  though  early  varieties  may  be  grown 
with  advantage  in  southern  Illinois,  and  even  further  north  where 
sown  on  particularly  warm  and  favorable  soils.  (230) 

310.  The  soja  (or  soy)  bean. — According  to  Georgeson, 3  the  soja 
bean  has  been  grown  for  six  years  with  success  at  the  Kansas  Sta- 
tion.    A  field  of  wheat  stubble  sown  in  July  gave  a  crop  which 
matured  before  frost.     The  stiff  stems  of  this  plant  reach  a  height 
of  from  two  to  three  feet,  and  the  yield  is  better  than  the  navy  or 
field  bean.     If  made  into  hay,  as  much  as  three  tons  per  acre  may 
be  secured  from  a  field  of  soja-bean  plants.     This  plant  is  gain- 
ing friends  at  the  South,  but  is  too  tender  to  be  generally  useful 
at  the  North  in  competition  with  red  clover  and  alfalfa.   (229) 

311.  The   common   field-pea  vine. —  The  common    field-pea    is 
grown  in  Canada  and  the  Northern  states  for  seed  and  human 

*  Bui.  17.  2  Kept.  1889. 

8  Prairie  Farmer,  Nov.  9, 1895. 
14 


210  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

food;  and  to  some  extent  for  forage.  A  combination  of  peas  and 
oats,  if  cut  early,  forms  a  forage  of  high  nutritive  quality  much 
appreciated  by  farm  stock,  especially  sheep  and  dairy  cows.  In 
the  grain  which  this  plant  furnishes  and  the  hay  which  it  is  pos- 
sible to  secure  from  it,  the  stockman  located  far  north  has  a  fair 
compensation  for  the  absence  of  the  corn  crop.  (228) 

312.  Hairy  vetch. —  This  plant,  from  Eussia,  is  under  trial  with 
promise  of  success  in  some  districts.     Sown  in  the  fall  with  rye, 
it  finds  support  from  the  rye  stems  and  furnishes  much  forage  of 
fair  quality.     The  seed  may  also  be  sown  in  the  spring.     The 
stems  of  the  plant  are  weak,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  not  useful 
when  grown  alone.     Tracy1  reports  that  in  the  South  the  vines 
of  this  vetch  may  reach  a  length  of  from  ten  to  twelve  feet,  form- 
ing a  dense  mass  of  forage  two  feet  in  depth.     He  reports  that 
stock  of  all  kinds  eat  this  plant  greedily  both  in  pasture  and  as  hay. 

313.  Fertilizing  constituents  of  legumes. —  Now  that  it  is  defi- 
nitely ascertained  that  the  legumes  fix  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  air 
in  root,  stem  and  leaf,  this  group  of  agricultural  plants  should 
have  a  double  interest  with  the  farmer- stockman  who  looks  to  the 
welfare  of  both  fields  and  stock.     In  nitrogen  and  potash  the 
legumes  lead  the  cereals,  while  the  phosphoric  acid  is  in  fair 
quantity.     The  manure  from  legume  hay  is  more  valuable  than 
that  from  the  corn  plant  or  straw  from  the  cereals. 

1  Farmers'  Bui.  18,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 


MISCELLANEOUS  FEEDING  STUFFS. 

I.  Hoots  and  Tubers. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Potato 

Lbs. 

21.1 
13.0 
13.5 
9.1 
9.5 
11.4 
11.4 
11.7 
20.0 

Lbs. 

0.9 
1.2 
1.1 
1.1 
1.0 
1.0 
0.8 
1.6 
2.0 

Lbs. 

16.3 
8.8 
10.2 
5.4 
7.2 
8.1 
7.8 
11.2 
16.8 

Lbs. 

0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 

Lbs. 

3.2 
2.4 
2.2 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.5 
1.8 
2.6 

Lbs. 

1.2 
0.9 
1.0 
0.9 
1.0 
1.2 
0.9 
2.0 
1.4 

Lbs. 

4.6 
4.4 
4.8 
3.8 
3.9 
4.9 
5.1 
4.4 
4.7 

Beet,  common 

Beet,  sugar  

Beet,  mangel  

Flat  turnip 

Ruta-baga 

(  Carrot  

Parsnip  

Artichoke 

314.  Yield  of  root  crops.— At  the  Ohio  Station,1  Thome  and 
Hickman,  as  the  result  of  trials  covering  twelve  years,  report 
that  sugar  beets  gave  an  average  yield  of  sixteen  tons  per  acre  on 
land  which  during  the  same  time  would  yield  sixty  bushels  of 
shelled  corn  per  acre.  They  estimate  that  beets  cost  two  dollars 
per  ton  to  raise,  harvest  and  place  in  the  cellar.  At  the  Ottawa 
(Canada)  Station, 2  Eobertson  reports  mangels  and  carrots  yield- 
ing 13.5  tons  per  acre,  and  costing  for  rent  of  land,  cultivation 
and  storage  of  the  crop  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  ton. 

Zavitz,  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College, 3  reports  the  yields 
of  the  three  best  varieties  each  of  potatoes  and  roots,  under  test 
for  five  to  six  years,  to  be  as  follows: 


Potatoes,  185  bushels  per  acre. 
Carrots,  28  tons  per  acre. 
Mangels,  24  tons  per  acre. 

1  Rept.  9. 

2  Rept.  1892. 
8  Rept,  1896. 


Turnips  ( fall  or  flat),  23  tons  per  acre, 
Swedes  ( ruta-bagas),20  tons  per  acre. 
Sugar  beets,  17  tons  per  acre. 


212 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  yields  are  based  on  comparatively  small  areas,  but  the 
figures  are  valuable  in  expressing  the  comparative  returns  of  the 
several  crops. 

315.  Yield  of  digestible  nutrients. —  The  digestible  nutrients 
yielded  by  each  crop  are  the  true  measure  of  their  value  to  the 
farmer.  These  are  presented  in  the  following  table: 

Estimated  yield  of  digestible  nutrients  per  acre  in  root  crops  grown  at 
the  Ontario  Agricultural  College.  •    • 


Crop. 

Dry 

matter. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Car- 
bohy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

185  bushels  of  potatoes            

Lbs. 
2  342 

Lbs. 
100 

Lbs. 
1,809 

Lbs. 

28  tons  carrots              

6  384 

448 

4,368 

112 

24  tons  mangels  

4,368 

528 

2,592 

48 

23  tons  fall  (flat)  turnips  

4,370 

460 

3.312 

92 

20  tons  ruta-bagas  (Swedes)  

4,560 

400 

3,240 

80 

17  tons  sugar  beets  

4,590 

374 

3,468 

34 

The  potato  gives  the  poorest  returns  of  any  crop  under  trial 
measured  by  the  total  digestible  matter.  The  mangel  and  turnip 
lead  in  protein,  while  the  carrot  and  sugar  beet  stand  first  in 
carbohydrates.  The  relatively  low  amount  of  protein  in  the 
sugar  beet  with  its  high  content  of  carbohydrates,  mostly  sugar, 
shows  how  successfully  that  plant  has  been  bred  for  the  single 
purpose  of  sugar  production. 

316.  The  potato. — Despite  the  poor  showing  for  the  potato  it  often 
happens  that  the  farmer  has  large  quantities  of  these  tubers  which 
would  better  be  fed  to  his  stock  than  forced  on  a  profitless  market. 
According  to  Fjord's  experiments,  four  pounds  of  potatoes  are 
worth  one  pound  of  grain  for  pig  feeding.     Trials  by  the  writer 
showed  that  445  pounds  of  potatoes,  when  cooked,  were  equal  to 
100  pounds  of  corn  meal  for  pigs.   (483-6,  866,  897)     For  pig 
feeding,   potatoes  should  be  cooked  and  mixed  with  meal;  for 
sheep  and  cattle  they  are  fed  sliced,  with  good  results.     Care 
should  be  exercised  in  regulating  the  amount  fed,  heavy  feeding 
of  raw  potatoes  inducing  scouring.   (658) 

317.  The  carrot. —  This  root  is  much  relished  by  horses  of  all 
ages  and  conditions.   (487)     Being  watery,  it  cannot  be  fed  in 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs.  213 

quantity  to  hard- worked  or  driving  horses.     Carrots  also  serve 
well  for  other  stock,  especially  dairy  cows.   (900) 

318.  The  mangel. —  Though  the  most  watery  of  all  roots,  the 
mangel  crop  stands  well  in  total  dry  matter  because  of  the  large 
yield.     At  the  Cornell  Station, l  Eoberts  found  the  yield  of  dry 
matter  practically  the  same  in  mangels  and  sugar  beets,  with  the 
labor  of  harvesting  the  sugar  beets  fully  twice  that  of  the  mangels. 

Because  the  large  roots  stand  well  out  of  the  ground,  the  mangel 
is  easily  cultivated  and  harvested.  It  is  mainly  devoted  to  feed- 
ing cows,  and  is  used  to  some  extent  for  sheep  feeding.  When 
boiled  and  mixed  with  meal  it  is  excellent  for  feeding  swine  and 
stock  hogs.  (549,  898) 

319.  Sugar  beet. —  Through  careful  selection  this  root  has  been 
marvelously  developed  for  the  single  purpose  of  producing  sugar. 
Because  it  sets  deep  in  the  ground  the  sugar  beet  is  more 
expensive  to  harvest  than  other  roots.     If  fed  in  large  quantity 
this  root  induces  scouring,  possibly  because  of  its  high  sugar 
content.     Because  of  these  facts,  Eoberts7  conclusion,  that  it  is 
better  to  grow  mangels  instead,  should  generally  be  followed. 
Farmers  patronizing  sugar  factories  having  waste  beets  should 
utilize  them.   (766,  899) 

320.  Ruta-baga  (Swede  turnip) . —  This  root  is  next  to  the  mangel 
for  ease  of  cultivation  and  harvesting.     Sheep  prefer  the  ruta- 
baga to  all  other  roots.     Like  other  turnips  the  ruta-baga  may 
taint  the  milk  of  cows,  and  for  this  reason  should  be  fed  in  only 
limited  quantity  immediately  after  milking.     This  root  is  a  favor- 
ite with  the  stockmen  of  Canada.   (489,  901) 

321.  Flat  turnip.—  This  root  yields  less  nutriment  than  the  ruta- 
baga, and  is  not  as  satisfactory  for  general  use  in  stock  feeding. 
Sown  as  a  catch  crop,  large  yields  are  often  secured  at  small  cost. 
This  root  is  used  mainly  for  feeding  sheep,  as  it  affects  milk  still 
more  unfavorably  than  the  ruta-baga. 

322.  Parsnip. —  The  parsnip  is  a  favorite  root  crop  with  the 
dairy  farmers  on  the  islands  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey.     Since  it 
contains  more  nutriment,  especially  carbohydrates,   than  most 
roots,  and  is  easily  grown,  its  use  should  become  more  common. 

1  Bui.  25. 


214  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

323.  Artichoke. —  At  the  Massachusetts   Station,1  Goessmann 
reports  artichokes  planted  May  4  yielding  a  crop  in  November  at 
the  rate  of  8.2  tons  per  acre.     At  the  Arkansas  Station  2  the 
yield  was  from  454  to  612  bushels  per  acre.     Schweitzer,  of  the 
Missouri  Station, 8  found  artichokes  of  equal  value  with  potatoes 
for  pig  feeding.   (488,  868)     The  artichoke  crop  is  harvested  by 
allowing  pigs  to  root  out  and  consume  the  tubers. 

324.  Storing  roots. —  Boots  should  be  stored  dry  in  well- venti- 
lated cellars  or  pits  where  the  temperature  is  just  above  freezing. 
Many  stockmen  hold  that  roots  are  not  suitable  for  feeding  until 
several  weeks  after  harvesting  and  storage,  during  which  time 
they  undergo  a  process  of  ripening  which  fits  them  for  animal  use. 

325.  Feeding  roots. —  In  Great  Britain  roots  take  the  place  of 
much  of  the  grain  and  coarse  forage  which  would  otherwise  be 
required  by  stock.     In  such  cases  sheep  are  fed  as  much  as 
20  and  cattle  100  pounds  daily.     In  this  country,  where  they 
are  more  often  used  for  variety  than  nourishment,  the  animal  is 
given  a  smaller  allowance.     For  horses  four  or  five  pounds  of 
carrots,  for  dairy  cows  twenty  to  thirty  pounds  of  mangels,  and 
for  sheep  four  or  five  pounds  of  ruta-bagas,  are  a  fair  daily  allow- 
ance of  roots,  and  one  that  will  greatly  conduce  to  the  healthful - 
ness  of  flock  and  herd. 

Carrots  may  be  fed  to  horses  without  slicing. 

Boots  of  all  kinds  should  be  sliced  for  sheep,  and  either  sliced 
or  pulped  for  cattle.  This  crop  is  not  generally  used  for  swine 
feeding  in  this  country,  but  small  quantities  may  be  fed  to  animals 
of  all  ages  with  advantage.  (657,  765,  867) 

326.  Roots  modify  the  animal  carcass. —  At  the  Utah  Station, 4 
Sanborn  fed  roots  to  steers,  sheep  and  swine,  and  on  determining 
the  water  and  fat  of  the  carcasses  wrote:     u  (1)  The  live- weight 
gain  for  cattle  and  sheep  was  greater,  and  for  hogs  less,  when  fed 
on  roots.     (2)  The   dressed  weight  of  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs 
showed  in  every  case  greater  shrinkage  for  those  fed  on  roots. 
(3)  The  root-fed  animals  contained  more  blood  and  necessarily 

1  Bept.  10. 

2  Bui.  31. 
a  Bul/29. 
*  Bui.  17. 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs.  215 

more  water  in  the  blood.  (4)  The  root-fed  steers  had  heavier 
vital  organs.  (5)  The  fat  was  always  less  for  the  root-fed  ani- 
mals, and  affords  a  somewhat  decisive  test  of  their  relative  value." 

Thus  we  learn  that  roots  cause  a  more  watery  carcass  than  do 
dry  feeds.  For  breeding  stock  especially,  and  even  for  animals 
in  the  early  stages  of  fattening,  may  not  this  point  be  one  of  value 
instead  of  detriment  ?  The  shote  running  on  clover  pasture  like- 
wise has  a  watery  carcass  because  of  the  succulent  feed  eaten,  yet 
it  lays  on  fat  at  small  cost  for  food  consumed.  Grass-fed  steers  are 
in  the  best  condition,  because  of  such  feed,  to  make  rapid  gains 
when  changed  to  more  solid  food.  A  steer  fed  roots  during  the 
first  part  of  the  fattening  period  should  remain  more  vigorous  and 
make  better  gains  for  food  consumed  than  one  held  on  dry  feed 
from  start  to  finish.  There  is  no  doubt  that  for  breeding  stock 
the  less  tense  flesh,  a  natural  sequence  of  root  feeding,  is  more 
conducive  to  vigorous  young  at  birth,  and  to  their  hearty  mainte- 
nance after  birth,  than  dry  feed  continued  without  intermission 
throughout  our  long  winters.  The  dairy  cow  takes  kindly  to  suc- 
culent food,  and  cannot  get  it  in  better  form  than  in  that  furnished 
by  roots.  If  silage  is  not  used,  then  let  roots  be  fed,  in  a  limited 
way  at  least,  to  our  farm  stock.  When  with  dry  feed  we  can 
produce  beef  cattle  and  mutton  sheep  equal  to  those  of  Great 
Britain,  and  dairy  cows  generally  as  good  as  those  of  Jersey,  then 
and  not  until  then  can  we  say  there  is  no  place  for  roots  or  some 
other  succulent  feed  on  American  farms. 

327.  Root  crops  not  generally  grown. —  Despite  the  advice  of 
agricultural  writers  urging  the  use  of  roots,  and  the  example  of 
the  English  and  Canadian  feeders,  who  rely  so  largely  on  this 
crop,  roots  are  no  more  generally  grown  in  the  United  States  than 
they  were  fifty  years  ago.  The  cause  for  this  lack  of  interest  is 
explained  by  Storer  in  the  following: l  "  Corn  is  remarkable,  not 
only  for  its  easy  cultivation,  but  for  its  enormous  yield  both  of 
food  and  of  fodder.  It  is  at  once  a  grain  crop  and  a  forage  crop; 
or,  even  more  emphatically,  a  bread  crop  and  a  fallow  crop. 
Practically  it  has  hitherto  in  good  part,  if  not  entirely,  done  away 
with  the  need  of  cultivating  roots  for  cattle  food  in  this  country, 

1  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  p.  313. 


216 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


and  it  has  enormously  curtailed  the  growing  of  leguminous  forage 
crops  also.  It  is  a  highly  interesting  and  still  debatable  question 
as  to  how  and  when  and  where  (if  anywhere)  systems  of  farm- 
ing based  on  the  supplementing  of  Indian  corn  with  roots  may 
best  be  practiced." 

While  the  corn  plant  is  so  truly  the  superior  of  the  root  crop, 
stockmen  should  watch,  lest  failing  to  make  the  proper  use  of  the 
one  they  neglect  the  other.  Farmers  as  a  rule  should  have  some 
succulent  food  for  their  stock  during  the  long  winter  5  if  it  is  not  in 
the  form  of  silage,  then  let  it  be  roots. 

II.  Miscellaneous  Forage  Plants,  Fruits,  etc. l 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry* 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Cabbage                

Lbs. 

15.3 
20.0 
12.0 
9.1 
19.2 
11.6 
14.0 
44.7 

Lbs. 

1.8 
.5 
.7 
.0 
.4 
.4 
.5 
2.1 

Lbs. 

8.2 
9.8 
4.6 
5.8 
8.3 
4.6 
8.1 
34.4 

Lbs. 

0.4 
0.3 
0.2 
0.3 
0.8 
0.2 
0.2 
1.7 

Lbs. 

3.8 
3.8 
4.1 

Lbs. 

1.1 
2.5 
1.5 

Lbs. 

4.3 
5.9 
6.2 

Spurry              

Sugar-beet  leaves  

Pumpkin,  field  

Pumpkin,  garden 

1.1 
4.2 
4.5 

1.6 
1.1 
1.5 

0.9 
7.5 
3.6 

Prickly  comfrey 

Acorns,  fresh  

328.  Cabbage. —  This  plant  is  grown  to  some  extent  in  Europe 
for  stock-feeding.     On  rich  ground,  yields  fully  equal  or  greater 
than  those  from  roots  may  be  obtained.     No  food  is  more  highly 
relished  by  sheep  or  dairy  cows,  though  for  the  latter  cabbage 
must  be  fed  with  caution  because  it  imparts  a  taint  to  the  milk. 
Where  soiling  is  practiced,  cabbage  may  be  found  a  profitable 
crop,  though  the  labor  required  in  the  cultivation  and  the  diffi- 
culties of  storage  will  probably  turn  the  feeder  to  the  corn  plant 
in  its  stead. 

329.  Spurry. —  This  plant,  grown  to  a  small  extent  in  Europe, 
may  possibly  prove  of  value  in  America  on  soils  too  light  and 
sandy  for  red  clover.     Kedzie,  of  the  Michigan  Station, 2  reports 

1  For  description  of  numerous  varieties  of  forage  plants  see  Fodder  and 
Forage  Plants,  Bui.  2,  Division  of  Agrostology,  U.  8.  Dept.  Agr. 

2  Bui.  101. 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs.  217 

quite  favorably  on  this  plant  for  light,  sandy  land.     Stockmen 
who  can  grow  crops  of  red  clover  and  corn  have  no  use  for  spurry. 

330.  Sugar-beet  leaves. —  In  the  vicinity  of  beet-sugar  factories 
leaves  from  the  beet  are  available  in  large  quantities.     Because 
of  oxalic  acid  in  the  leaves,  they  can  be  fed  to  stock  only  in  limited 
quantity  without  injurious  effects.     In  Europe  beet  leaves  are 
preserved  by  building  them  up  in  layers,  and  sprinkling  lime  over 
each  layer  for  the  purpose  of  neutralizing  the  oxalic  acid.     The 
heaps  thus  made  are  covered  with  earth  and  held  until  required 
for  feeding. 

331.  Pumpkin. —  Grown  as  a  main  crop  or  even  as  a  secondary 
one  in  the  corn  field,  the  pumpkin  vine  often  yields  large  returns 
at  small  cost  for  production.     A  tract  of  well-prepared  land 
devoted  exclusively  to  this  vegetable  will  pay  well  under  good 
management.     For  dairy  cows  the  pumpkin  is  an  excellent  fall 
feed,  none  being  more  highly  relished;  for  swine  in  the  first  stages 
of  fattening  they  are  useful  either  fresh  or  cooked  with  meal. 

There  is  a  tradition  among  farmers  that  pumpkin  seeds  increase 
the  excretion  from  the  kidneys  and  should  be  removed  before  feed- 
ing. In  the  dispensatory  the  pumpkin  seed  is  given  as  a  vermi- 
fuge, with  no  reference  to  any  other  property.  Since  the  seeds 
contain  nutriment  they  should  not  be  wasted. 

332.  Prickly  comfrey. —  From  time  to  time  we  find  this  plant 
highly  praised  in  the  agricultural  press  for  its  forage  properties. 
At  the  Wisconsin  Station  l  a  comfrey  plat  was  found  to  require 
about  the  same  cultivation  as  the  same  area  planted  to  potatoes. 
Woll,  comparing  the  returns  from  this  plat,  when  well  established, 
with  an  adjacent  area  of  red  clover  seeded  the  year  before,  found 
that  the  red  clover  in  three  cuttings  yielded  twenty- three  per 
cent,  more  dry  matter  and  twenty-five  per  cent,  more  protein 
than  did  the  comfrey.     Cattle  generally  will  not  eat  this  plant 
when  first  offered  to  them,  but  soon  overcome  the  objection.     Gen- 
erally the  stockman  would  better  give  his  attention  to  red  clover, 
alfalfa  or  corn  than  attempt  to  use  comfrey. 

333.  Cactus. —  In  times  of  scarcity  several  species  of  cactus  in 
western  Texas  are  used  for  maintaining  cattle  and  sheep.     The 

*  Kept.  1889. 


218  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

prickles  of  the  leaves  are  scorched  off  by  fire  before  feeding. 
Carothers  l  reports:  "  During  the  severe  drought  of  last  winter 
and  the  previous  one  many  thousands  of  cattle  were  fed  upon  the 
scorched  pear  cactus  leaves,  but  it  was  the  universal  experience 
that  it  was  necessary  to  give  some  species  of  roughage  with  it; 
that  if  fed  alone  it  would  not  be  assimilated  and  would  cause 
scouring  or  diarrhoaa." 

The  feed  is  sometimes  prepared  by  steaming  the  chopped  leaves 
mixed  with  cotton  seed,  and  this  compound  is  reported  as  very 
satisfactory. 2 

334.  Forage  rape. —  Though  as  yet  grown  in  but  a  limited  way 
the  rape  plant  is  rapidly  gaining  in  favor  in  this  country,  mainly 
through  the  instrumentality  of  our  Experiment  Stations,  which 
have  brought  it  prominently  to  the  attention  of  stockmen.     The 
Dwarf  Essex  is  the  variety  commonly  sown.     In  a  few  instances 
bird-seed  rape  has  been  sown,  resulting  in  a  product  of  no  feeding- 
value.     Eape  may  be  sown  at  any  time  from  early  spring  until 
August  in  the  Northern  states,  the  seed  being  scattered  at  the 
rate  of  three  or  four  pounds  per  acre  broadcast,  or  two  or  three 
pounds  per  acre  in  drills  thirty  inches  apart.     Only  in  the  latter 
form  is  any  cultivation  required.     The  crop  is  harvested  by  turn- 
ing stock  directly  into  the  rape  field  to  consume  the  abundant 
nutritious  leaves  and  stems,  which  are  the  parts  eaten.     It  cannot 
be  utilized  to  advantage  as  a  dry  forage,  nor  as  silage  owing  to  its 
large  water  content.     Zavitz3  reports  a  yield  of  twenty-seven  tons 
per  acre  from  two  pounds  of  seed  sown  in  drills  twenty-seven 
inches  apart,  the  crop  being  cultivated  every  ten  days.     At  the 
Wisconsin  Station,4  Craig  secured  a  yield  of  nine  and  three- 
quarters  tons  of  rape  at  a  single  cutting  from  a  half  acre  of  land, 
while  a  small  plat  yielded  at  the  rate  of  thirty -six  tons  per  acre 
from  two  cuttings. 

335.  Uses  of  rape. —  For  cattle,  rape  is  highly  prized  by  some 
feeders  for  furnishing  a  succulent  feed  during  the  fall  months 
and  preparing  them  for  winter.     It  has  also  been  fed  to  dairy  cows, 
but  must  be  used  with  caution  lest  it  taint  the  milk.     Trials  at 


1  Agr.  Sci.,  Vol.  I,  1887,  No.  11. 

2  See  Bui.  3.  Bot.  Div.  U.  S.  Dep.  Agr. 

s  Eept.  19,  Ont.  Agr.  Col.  4  Kept.  11. 


t 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuff's.  219 

the  Wisconsin  Station1  by  Craig  show  that  rape  has  a  very  con- 
siderable value  for  feeding  swine,  especially  during  the  earlier 
stages  of  fattening.  This  feed  is  much  relished  by  pigs.  Being 
succulent  it  distends  the  digestive  tract  and  prepares  it  for  the 
heavier  grain  feeding  which  follows. 

It  is  on  sheep  farms  that  rape  will  find  its  largest  use.  It  can 
be  fed  to  all  classes  of  sheep  with  advantage,  and  since  the  animals 
harvest  the  crop  the  cost  of  feeding  it  is  insignificant  compared 
with  the  returns.  Within  eight  weeks  after  seeding  the  plants 
are  large  enough  for  use,  and  they  are  then  fed  off  by  turning  the 
sheep  directly  into  the  field  to  gather  the  forage  at  will.  Craig, 
of  the  Wisconsin  Station, 2  makes  the  following  recommendations: 
* '  The  attempt  should  never  be  made  to  feed  lambs  rape  without 
giving  them  a  couple  of  hours  grazing  on  pasture  before  turning 
them  into  the  rape.  This  is  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  lambs, 
as  they  are  otherwise  very  liable  to  bloat,  and  the  combined  feed- 
ing of  pasture  and  rape  results  in  greater  gains. ' ' 
.  The  rape  crop,  which  will  probably  grow  anywhere  in  the 
United  States  at  some  season  of  the  year,  is  recommended  to 
farmers  and  stockmen  as  well  worthy  of  trial,  since  it  is  produced 
at  small  expense  for  seed  and  culture  and  yields  an  immense 
amount  of  nutritious  forage,  the  flavor  and  succulence  of  which 
are  highly  appreciated  by  cattle,  especially  sheep  and  swine. 
(656,  767-769,  879) 

336.  Acorn. —  In  some  of  the  forests  of  Europe  this  crop  has 
considerable  value  for  swine  feeding,  and  is  used  to  a  limited 
extent  in  this  country.     The  influence  of  acorns  on  the  flesh  of 
swine  is  uncertain,  some  asserting  that  the  pork  from  acorn-fed 
swine  is  satisfactory,  while  others  affirm  that  it  is  soft  and  un- 
desirable. 

337.  Leaves  and  twigs. —  The  small  branches  and  leaves  of 
trees  are  fed  regularly  to  farm  animals  in  the  mountain  regions  of 
Europe  where  herbage  is  scarce,  and  in  case  of  failure  of  pastures 
or  the  hay  crop  they  have  been  extensively  used  elsewhere. 
Twigs  contain  about  fifty  per  cent,  digestible  components,  mostly 
non-nitrogenous  substances.     They  contain  from  forty  to  fifty  per 

1  Bui.  58.  2  Loc.  cit. 


220 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


cent,  dry  matter,  and  generally  less  than  two  per  cent,  of  protein. 
Leaves  are  somewhat  more  digestible  than  twigs,  and  the  better 
kinds  compare  favorably,  in  feeding  value,  to  meadow  hay. 
Leaves  of  the  ash,  birch,  linden  and  elder  are  considered  of 
greatest  value,  in  the  order  given.  They  are  eaten  with  relish, 
especially  by  goats  and  sheep,  and  are  often  harvested  in  the  fall 
and  dried  for  winter  feeding. 

III.  Slaughter-house  and  Beet-sugar  Factory  Refuse. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Driedblood      

Lbs. 

91.5 

89.3 
89.2 
10.2 
79.2 

Lbs. 

52.3 
66.2 
44.1 
0.6 
9.1 

Lbs. 

.0 
.3 
.0 
7.3 
59.5 

Lbs. 

2.5 
13.7 
10.3 

Lbs. 

135.0 
113.9 
77.5 
1.4 
14.6 

Lbs. 

13.5 
7.0 
120.0 
0.2 
0.5 

Lbs. 

7.7 
1.0 
2.0 
0.4 
56.3 

Meatscrap  

Dried  fish    

Beet  molasses  

.0 

338.  Dried  blood. —  Dried  blood  from  the  slaughter-house  is 
used  for  the  most  part  by  farmers  and  gardeners  for  fertilizing 
purposes.     Such  use  seems  a  perversion,  for  it  should  first  be 
employed  as  a  feeding  stuff  and  the  voidings  of  the  animals  to 
which  it  has  been  fed  applied  to  field  and  garden,  thus  securing 
two  values.     Dried  blood  may  serve  a  useful  purpose  with  the 
stockman,  especially  the  pig  feeder.     We  have  learned  that  corn 
lacks  protein;  dried  blood  is  a  complementary  food,  since  it  is 
remarkably  rich  in  protein.     Pigs  at  weaning  time  will  relish  a 
tablespoonful  of  dried  blood  daily  with  their  feed,  and  this  allow- 
ance may  be  gradually  increased  until  two  ounces  are  fed  daily  to 
each  animal.     Those  feeding  pigs,  especially  if  handling  breeding 
stock,  should  not  allow  the  gardeners  to  have  first  claim  to  such  a 
useful  adjunct  to  the  short  list  of  really  desirable  feeding  ma- 
terials usually  available.     See  Chapter  VI.   (778,  902) 

339.  Flesh  meal,  meat  scrap. —  The  introduction  of  meat  scrap 
or  flesh  meal  as  a  feed  for  stock  is  due  to  the  efforts  of  Baron 
Liebig,  at  whose  instance  the  first  factory  for  making  meat  extract 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs.  221 

was  founded  in  Uraguay,  and  who  suggested  the  utilization  of 
the  refuse  meat  for  stock  feeding.  Large  quantities  of  flesh  meal 
or  meat  scrap  are  now  shipped  from  South  America  to  Europe  for 
use  as  feed  and  fertilizers.  As  shown  by  the  table,  this  product 
is  remarkably  rich  in  protein,  which  gives  it  a  high  value  in  con- 
nection with  corn  for  feeding  stock,  especially  pigs. 

According  to  Wolff, l  flesh  meal  has  been  found  satisfactory  as- 
a  food  for  ruminants  as-well  as  for  swine.  When  fed  to  cows  and 
oxen,  only  a  limited  quantity  should  at  first  be  given,  the  amount 
being  increased  until  two  or  three  pounds  are  fed  daily.  Lambs- 
and  sheep  digest  flesh  meal  as  completely  as  do  pigs,  and  thrive 
on  this  feed. 

Judging  from  the  results  obtained  with  flesh  meal,  there  is  no- 
reason  why  the  better  grades  of  meat  scrap  produced  at  our 
slaughter-houses  should  not  be  used  for  feeding  stock,  especially 
pigs.  La  Querriere, 2  discussing  meat  scrap,  concludes  that  it  is 
excellent  for  horses  when  boiled  and  mixed  with  hay  and  straw. 
The  practice  of  feeding  meat  to  horses  is  by  no  means  new.  The 
Arabs  prepared  camels'  flesh  with  other  feed  in  the  form  of  cakes 
which  were  given  to  their  horses,  thus  providing  a  concentrated, 
nutritious  food. 

Scheurer  3  has  shown  that  meat  scrap  mixed  with  ground  grain 
and  baked  into  a  bread  can  be  kept  for  at  least  seven  years  with- 
out suffering  deterioration.  A  division  of  English  army  horses 
fed  American  dried  meat  made  into  a  biscuit  with  oats  showed 
decided  superiority  over  horses  fed  in  the  ordinary  way.  Such 
meat  biscuits  have  been  recommended  for  feeding  race-horses. 
(778,  874) 

340.  Dried  fish,  fish  scrap. —  Two  feeds  made  from  fish  have 
been  placed  on  the  market,  viz.,  fish  scrap,  which  is  the  dried 
and  ground  refuse  in  the  manufacture  of  dried  codfish,  and  her- 
ring cakes  or  fish  meal,  which  are  the  whole  fish,  dried  and 
ground.  Both  fish  scrap  and  fish  cake  are  used  as  cattle  feeds  in 
the  coast  regions  of  Europe.  (551)  The  effects  of  fish  cakes  on 
milk  and  butter  have  been  studied  by  Kilson, 4  Winberg  6  and 

1  Farm  Foods,  Eng.  Ed.,  p.  204. 

2  Milchzeitung,  1881,  p.  753. 
3Loc.  cit. 

4  Kgl.  Landtbr.  Akad.  Handl.,  1889.  257. 
8  Tidskrift  f.  Landtmaend,  1891,  522. 


"222  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Speir, l  who  report  no  bad  influence  on  the  milk  when  reasonable 
quantities  are  fed.  In  Mlson's  experiments,  eighty  parts  of  her- 
ring cake  replaced  one  hundred  parts  of  linseed  cake  in  the 
ration  of  dairy  cows. a  (661) 

With  dried  fish  used  so  largely  for  fertilizing  purposes,  the 
stockman  will  readily  understand  the  high  value  of  manure  or- 
iginating from  this  feed. 

341.  Sugar-beet  pulp. —  With  the  development  of  the  beet-sugar 
industry  in  this  country  there  will  arise  much  inquiry  as  to  the 
value  of  the  refuse  from  the  factory  for  stock  feeding.  Beet  pulp 
contains  about  ninety  per  cent,  water  and  ten  per  cent,  solids. 
The  solid  matter  is  composed  in  part  of  the  cell  walls  of  the  beet 
root,  and  for  this  reason  contains  considerable  crude  fiber.  This 
fact,  and  its  watery  character,  indicate  that  the  best  use  of  beet 
pulp  is  to  serve  as  a  feed  for  cattle  and  sheep.  Bran  and  clover 
or  alfalfa  hay  are  complementary  feeding  stuffs  for  balancing  the 
ration. 

According  to  Myrick, 3  a  system  of  feeding  cattle  in  sheds  and 
pens  is  in  operation  at  the  Lehi  (Utah)  beet  sugar  factory,  where 
2,000  head  of  cattle  are  fattened  each  season.  Here  each  animal 
consumes  from  100  to  125  pounds  of  pulp  daily  in  addition  to  15 
pounds  of  hay.  "  These  cattle  command  a  very  good  market, 
the  meat  being  very  juicy  and  tender. " 

Feeding  tests  were  conducted  by  practical  farmers  under  direc- 
tion of  the  Halle  (Germany)  Station, 4  in  which  a  uniform  quan- 
tity of  grain  and  hay  was  fed  to  cows  and  steers  throughout  the 
trial,  with  beet  pulp  supplied  in  different  amounts,  for  the  several 
periods.  As  a  summary  of  some  of  these  trials  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing: 

1  Trans.  Highl.  &  Agr.  Soc.,  J888,  pp.  112-128. 

2  Concerning  the  feeding  of  salt  herrings  to  milch  cows,  see  Rept.  Conn. 
Expt.  Sta.,  1890,  p.  180. 

3  Sugar:  a  New  and  Profitable  Industry. 
«Expt.  Sta.  Rec.,  Vol.  3. 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs. 


223 


Yield  of  milk  from  dairy  cows  and  gain  of  steers  fed  varying  quanti- 
ties of  beet  pulp — Halle  (Germany)  Station. 


Cows. 

Period  I  and  V. 

Period  II  and  IV. 

Period  III. 

Beet  pulp  fed      

44     pounds. 

66     pounds. 

88     pounds. 

Milk  vield      

29.  4  pounds. 

30.7  pounds. 

31.1  pounds. 

Steers. 

Beet  pulp  fed  

66     pounds. 

88     pounds. 

110     pounds. 

Do.il  v  Grain 

3  3  pounds. 

3.5  pounds. 

2.8  pounds. 

With,  cows,  eighty -eight  pounds  of  pulp  caused  the  largest  flow 
-of  milk,  while  with  steers  the  medium  quantity  supplied,  eighty- 
eight  pounds,  gave  the  best  -returns,  a  larger  amount  materially 
reducing  the  gain. 

342.  Silage  from  beet    pulp. —  Beet  pulp  makes  a  very  fair 
•quality  of  silage,  and  because  of  the  large  quantity  turned  out  by 
the  factory  in  a  comparatively  short  time,  much  of  the  pulp 
should  be  preserved  in  the  silo  in  order  that  the  period  of  its  use- 
fulness may  be  materially  extended.     The  simplest  form  of  pres- 
ervation is  effected  by  excavating  trenches  three  or  four  feet  in 
depth,  and  wide  enough  to  drive  a  team  and  wagon  through. 
Loads  of  beet  pulp  are  deposited  in  this,  and  when  the  mass  is 
several  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground  it  is  arranged  with 
sloping  sides  which  are  covered  with  straw,  and  on  this  earth  is 
placed  to  keep  out  air  and  frost.     For  storing  pulp  the  silo,  con- 
structed in  the  same  manner  as  for  the  preservation  of  green  corn, 
will  in  the  end  be  found  more  economical. 

Beet  silage  is  relished  by  cattle,  and  serves  well  for  feeding 
them,  both  for  flesh  and  milk.  It  has  about  half  the  value  of 
<»orn  silage. 

343.  Importance  of  utilizing  beet  pulp. —  Farmers  growing  beets 
for  the  sugar  factory  should  not  be  content  with  this  operation, 
but  should  add  to  their  system  that  of  feeding  a  large  amount  of 
pulp  —  at  least  as  much  as  results  from  the  beets  grown  by  them. 

By  feeding  stock  beet  pulp  and  the  other  waste  of  the  crop, 
large  quantities  of  manure  will  be  made  which  will  assist  in  keep- 


224  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

ing  the  farm  in  high  fertility,  assuring  large  crops  from  the  beet 
fields  and  ample  forage  from  other  lands,  used  in  rotation,  for  the 
maintenance  of  live  stock.  A  farming  community  which  will 
intelligently  grow  beets  and  utilize  the  pulp  resulting  from  them 
in  the  feeding  of  cattle  will  be  able  to  grow  as  large  crops,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  beets,  as  were  produced  before  adding  that  industry, 
and  to  maintain  many  more  cattle  than  was  possible  before  beet 
farming  was  inaugurated.  This  statement  is  warranted  by  the 
conditions  prevailing  in  the  beet  districts  of  Europe.  Beet  culture 
means  more  cattle  and  larger  crops  generally,  rather  than  less, 
provided  always  that  the  pulp  from  the  beets  is  properly  utilized. 

344.  Molasses  from  the  beet  factory. — Beet  molasses,  the  residue 
in  the  manufacture  of  sugar,  is  a  bitter  substance  having  purging 
properties.     In  Europe  much  of  this  material  has  heretofore  been 
wasted,  but  through  continued  study  by  the  investigators  more 
and  more  of  it  is  being  utilized.     It  has  been  found  that  a  stock 
food  can  be  prepared  by  combining  beet  molasses  and  dried  peat 
from  bogs.     The  acid  in  the  peat  is  said  to  neutralize  the  alkali 
of  the  molasses. 

In  Sweden,  Insulander1  fed  as  much  as  3.3  pounds  of  molasses 
daily  to  dairy  cows  by  diluting  with  twice  its  weight  of  water 
and  pouring  it  over  the  feed.  Work -horses  were  fed  2.2  pounds 
daily,  and  pigs  were  successfully  fed  molasses  with  skim  milk. 

Clausen  and  Friderichsen2  have  shown  that  beet  molasses  con- 
taining fifty  per  cent,  of  sugar,  when  mixed  with  fresh  blood,  may 
stand  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  long  time  without  putrefaction. 
By  adding  this  mixture  of  molasses  and  blood  to  corn  meal  or 
other  cereal  products  and  drying,  a  very  nutritious  compound  is 
obtained  which  is  palatable  with  all  kinds  of  farm  stock. 

345.  Quantities  of  molasses  to  be  fed. —  According  to  Hollrung3 
the  following  quantities  of  beet  molasses  may  be  fed  with  good 
results  to  farm  animals,  daily,  per  thousand  pounds  live  weight: 
Draft  oxen,  4.4  pounds;  fattening  steers,  8.8  pounds;  milch  cows, 
2.75  pounds;  fattening  sheep,  5.5  pounds  and  ewes  .3  pounds. 

1  Expt.  Sta.  Rec..  Vol.  7. 

2  A  New  Rational  Method  for  the  Utilization  of  Blood  —  Copenhagen, 
1896. 

3  Jahresb.  Agr.  Chem.,  1895,  p.  446. 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs.  225 

Animals  advanced  in  pregnancy  should  be  allowed  only  half  the 
usual  quantity. 

346.  Potash  in  beet  molasses. —  The  high  potash  content  of 
beet  molasses,  together  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  nitrogen, 
shows  that  this  by-product  should  not  be  wasted,  but  its  ultimate 
fertilizing  constituents  saved  to  the  farm. 

347.  Sorghum  and  cane-sugar  molasses. —  Unlike  bitter  beet 
molasses,  that  from  the  cane  plant  is  palatable  and  much  relished 
by  all  farm  animals.     Cane  molasses  contains  about  fifty  per  cent, 
sugar  and  twelve  per  cent.  gums.     The  nutrients  it  contains  are 
about  equal  to  those  in  corn,  and,  since  starch  and  sugar  have 
practically  the  same  nutritive  value,  cane  molasses  has  the  same 
feeding  value  as  an  equal  weight  of  corn. 

At  the  Texas  Station, l  Gulley  fed  molasses  with  cotton-seed 
hulls  and  cotton-seed  meal  to  fattening  steers  with  good  results. 
When  molasses  was  added  to  silage,  the  combination  gave  poorer 
returns  than  silage  alone.  (552) 

Molasses  is  used  to  some  extent  for  preparing  animals  for  show 
or  sale.  Its  good  effect  for  this  purpose  is  doubtless  due  to  its 
palatability  inducing  large  consumption  of  the  feed  substances 
with  which  it  is  mingled.  Flesh  put  on  through  molasses  feeding 
is  not  considered  substantial,  and  this  substance  is  said  to  be 
deleterious  to  breeding  animals,  leading  to  sterility,  especially 
with  males.  • 

343.  Sugar. —  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  investigations  to  determine 
the  relative  value  of  sugar  and  starch  in  foods  are  well  summar- 
ized in  the  following: 2  "In  conclusion,  the  evidence  of  direct 
experiment  clearly  goes  to  show  that  all  but  identical  amounts  6f 
the  dry  substance  of  cane  sugar  and  of  starch  are  both  consumed 
by  a  given  weight  of  animal  within  a  given  time,  and  are  required 
to  yield  a  given  weight  of  increase.  The  practical  identity  in 
feeding-value,  which  from  the  known  chemical  relationship  of 
these  two  substances  has  hitherto  been  assumed,  is  now  therefore 
experimentally  illustrated,  and  it  probably  only  varies  in  point 
of  fact  with  their  slightly  varying  percentages  of  carbon." 

1  Bui.  10. 

2  The  Equivalency  of  Starch  and  Sugar  in  Food,  Rothamsted  Memoirs, 
Vol.  II. 

15 


226 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


III.   Cow's  Milk  and  its  By-products. 
Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Kind  of  milk. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing:  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein.* 

Carbo- 
hy- 
dratesf 

Ether 
ex- 
tract.J 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Cow's  milk                 

Lbs. 

12.8 
25.4 
9.6 
9.4 
9.9 
6.6 

Lbs. 

3.6 
17.6 
3.1 

2.9 
3.9 
0.8 

Lbs. 

4.9 
2.7 
4.7 
5.2 
4.0 
4.7 

Lbs. 

3.7 
3.6 
0.8 
0.3 
1.1 
0.3 

Lbs. 

5.3 

28.2 
5.6 
5.6 
4.8 
1.5 

Lbs. 

1.9 
6.6 
2.0 
2.0 
1.7 
1.4 

Lbs. 

1.8 
1.1 
1.9 
1.9 
1.6 
1.8 

Cow's  milk  colostrum  .... 

Skim  milk  gravity  

Skim  milk,  centrifugal  .... 
Buttermilk  

Whey  

*  Casein  and  albumen.  f  Milk  sugar.  J  Fat. 

349.  Concerning  milk. —  Milk  is  the  only  substance  which  we 
know  to  be  designed  by  nature  for  the  sole  purpose  of  supplying 
nourishment  for  animal  life.     For  this  reason  it  must  always  pos- 
sess a  peculiar  interest  to  the  student  of  animal  nutrition.     It 
seems  reasonable  to  suppose,  from  its  single  purpose,  that  milk 
not  only  contains  all  the  nutrients  necessary  to  sustain  the  life  of 
young  animals  but  that  these  are  arranged  in  proper  proportion. 

350.  Fat  and  serum. —  The  milk  of  the  cow  may  be  divided  into 
fat  and  milk  serum.     The  percentage  of  fat  in  the  milk  of  the 
same  cow  may  vary  greatly  both  in  the  entire  milk  produced  at 
different  periods  and  in  different  portions  drawn  at  the  same 
milking.     The  first  milk  drawn  is  poor  in  fat,  while  that  last 
drawn  is  very  rich,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  table  prepared 
by  Babcock  of  the  Wisconsin  Station:1 

Percentage  composition  of  first  and  last  milk  from  the  cow  and  of  the 
serum — Wisconsin  Station. 


Composition  of  milk. 

Composition  of  milk 
serum. 

Water. 

Solids. 

Fat. 

Water. 

Solids. 

Trial  No.  1. 
First  milk  

88.17 
80.82 

88.73 
80.37 

11.83 
19.18 

11.27 
19.63 

1.32 
9.63 

1.07 
10.36 

89.35 
89.43 

89.69 
89.66 

10.65 
10.57 

10.31 
10.34 

StriDDimrs  ... 

ZH«^O.S; 

First  milk 

Stripping?*       .... 

Bui.  18. 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs.  227 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  last  milk  drawn  was  from  seven  to  ten 
times  as  rich  in  fat  as  that  first  drawn.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
serum,  which  consists  of  the  milk  solids  less  the  fat,  is  substan- 
tially constant  in  composition. 

351.  Milk  fat. —  In  the  manufacture  of  butter,  the  object  of  the 
dairyman  is  to  secure  all  the  fat  possible  from  the  milk  with  but  a 
trace  of  the  other  constituents.     By  the  use  of  the  centrifugal  sep- 
arator most  of  the  fat  is  abstracted  from  the  milk,  the  residue 
amounting  to  from  one  to  three-tenths  of  one  per  cent.     In  grav- 
ity creaming,  which  was  formerly  the  only  process  employed,  about 
seven-tenths  of  one  per  cent,  of  fat  is  usually  left  in  the  skim 
milk.     For  this  reason  gravity  skim  milk  is  usually  somewhat 
superior  for  feeding  purposes  to  that  skimmed  by  the  centrifugal 
separator. 

352.  The  nitrogenous  constituents. —  As  the  table  shows,  aver- 
age milk  contains  3.6  per  cent,  of  nitrogenous  substances,  mainly 
casein  and  albumen,  in  the  proportion  of  about  five  parts  of  casein 
to  one  of  albumen. 

In  the  manufacture  of  cheese,  rennet  is  added  to  the  milk  for 
the  purpose  of  coagulating  the  casein.  The  casein  thus  coagulated 
entraps  the  fat  globules  and  carries  most  of  them  into  the  curd. 
The  albumen,  which  does  not  coagulate,  together  with  the  milk 
sugar  passes  into  the  whey,  as  does  some  of  the  fat.  The  amount 
of  fat  present  in  whey  varies  greatly,  according  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  curd  is  manipulated  previous  to  drawing  the  whey. 

353.  Milk  sugar. —  Milk  sugar  in  separate  form  is  a  white 
powder  of  low  sweetening  power,  and  is  much  less  soluble  than 
cane  sugar,  which  it  closely  resembles  in  chemical  composition. 
"When  milk  sours  some  of  the  sugar  is  changed  to  lactic  acid,  which 
has  the  effect  of  coagulating  or  curdling  the  casein.     When  about 
eight-tenths  of  one  per  cent,  of  acid  has  developed,  fermentation 
ceases,  so  that  sour  milk  may  still  contain  much  of  the  original 
milk  sugar.     Judging  from  its  composition,  milk  sugar  has  about 
the  same  value  for  feeding  as  the  same  weight  of  starch. 

354.  Ash  in  milk. —  In  each  hundred  pounds  of  milk  there  are 
about  seven-tenths  of  a  pound  of  mineral  matter,  consisting  chiefly 
of  phosphates  and  chlorids  of  potash,  soda  and  lime. 


228  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

355.  Colostrum. —  The  first  milk  yielded  by  the  cow  after  calv- 
ing is  yellow,  thick  and  viscous,  differing  from  natural  milk  in 
its  high  protein  and  ash  content  with  low  fat  and  milk  sugar. 
The  albumen  of  colostrum  milk  may  reach  13.6  per  cent.,  while  in 
normal  milk  it  is  about  one-half  of  one  per  cent.     This  first  milk  is 
exceedingly  important  to  the  young  animal  at  birth,  and  should 
never  be  withheld  from  it,  for  besides  yielding  nutriment  it  pos- 
sesses properties  which  serve  to  cleanse  the  alimentary  tract  and 
properly  start  the  work  of  digestion.   (527) 

356.  Whole  milk. —  Whole  milk  is  too  valuable,  in  most  in- 
stances, to  be  used  as  a  feed  for  farm  animals,  though  the  stock- 
man should  never  hesitate  to  supply  it  when  required  by  very 
young  or  valuable  animals.     Young  stock  being  prepared  for 
exhibition  can  be  forced  ahead  rapidly  by  the  judicious  use  of 
unskimmed  milk,  and  the  knowing  ones  connected  with  our  live- 
stock exhibitions  could  tell,  if  they  would,  some  interesting  stories 
concerning  the  feeding  of  milk  to  animals  whose  weights,  if  not 
their  ages,  would  indicate  that  they  should  long  before  have  been 
weaned.   (504,  516,  659,  736) 

357.  Skim  milk. —  Because  of  the  protein  and  ash  it  carries, 
skim  milk  is  of  high  value  in  building  up  the  muscular  and  bony 
framework  of  young  animals.     According  to  Pott, l  the  horses  of 
the  Cooperative  Dairy  Association  of  Hamburg  are  fed  large 
quantities  of  skim  milk  and  buttermilk  with  satisfactory  results. 
In  eastern  Prussia  suckling  foals  are  fed  buttermilk  and  sour 
skim  milk. 

Where  skim  milk  is  fed  care  should  be  exercised  in  its  admin- 
istration. The  vessels  which  hold  the  milk  and  those  from  which 
it  is  fed  should  be  kept  clean  and  wholesome.  Milk  should 
always  be  fed  to  very  young  animals  at  blood  temperature,  lest 
on  entering  the  stomach  at  a  lower  temperature  than  maintained 
by  that  organ  it  arrest  the  progress  of  digestion.  With  very 
young  animals  skim  milk  should  be  fed  not  less  than  three  times 
daily.  (518-20,  659,  869-71,  886-8,  890) 

358.  Buttermilk. —  This  by-product  has  substantially  the  same 
composition  as  skim  milk.     Tests  at  the  Massachusetts  Station2 

1  Futtermittel,  p.  645.  2  Buls.  13,  18. 


Miscellaneous  Feeding  Stuffs.  229 

show  that  buttermilk  has  about  the  same  feeding  value  as  skim 
milk  with  pigs.  In  the  hands  of  skilled  feeders  buttermilk  may 
also  be  used  in  calf  rearing,  though  many  have  failed  in  this  un- 
dertaking. Except  for  very  young  animals  buttermilk  may  be 
used  successfully  wherever  skim  milk  is  employed  as  a  feed. 
Creameries  often  dilute  buttermilk  with  water,  thereby  reducing 
its  value.  (872) 

359.  Whey. —  Whey  is  an  exceedingly  thin  food,  and  is  so  liable 
to  misuse  that  many  prefer  to  waste  it  rather  than  incur  the  risk 
attendant  upon  its  use.     Whey  may  be  fed  to  pigs  with  profit,  but 
it  must  be  kept  in  clean  vessels  and  fed  in  a  cleanly  manner.     At 
the  Ontario  Agricultural  College, l  Day  secured  as  good  results 
with  whey  somewhat  soured  as  with  sweet  whey.     The  feeder 
should  not  conclude  from  this  that  sour  whey  held  in  filthy  tanks 
and  vessels  is  a  suitable  feed  for  farm  stock.   (523, 528,  660, 873, 
887,889,890) 

360.  Fertilizing  value. —  The  dairyman  who  sells  butter  and 
feeds  the  skim  milk  and  buttermilk  to  farm  animals  parts  with  but 
an  insignificant  amount  of  fertility.     When  cheese  is  made,  if  the 
whey  is  returned  to  the  farm,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  min- 
eral matter  of  the  milk  is  conserved,  but  most  of  the  nitrogen  is 
lost.     If  whole  milk  is  sold,  the  drain  of  fertilizing  matter  is  con- 
siderable.    These  differences  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  in 
conducting  the  various  branches  of  dairy  farming. 

V.   Condimental  Foods. 

361.  Findings    of  investigators. —  Proprietary    articles    styled 
" Prepared  Food,77  "Seed  Meal,"  etc.,  costing  from  three  to  ten 
cents  per  pound,  are  common,  and  judging  from  the  advertising 
space  given  them  in  newspapers  a  large  amount  of  money  must 
be  received  from  their  sale  each  year.     It  is  generally  claimed 
for  these  feeds  that  they  possess  great  nutritive  properties  and 
medicinal  qualities  combined. 

In  England  Thorley's  Food  is  a  standard  article  of  this  class, 
having  been  largely  advertised  for  many  years.  Lawes  and  Gil- 
bert tested  its  effectiveness  with  sheep,  and  conclude:2  "The 

*  Kept.  1896. 

2  Rothamsted  Memoirs,  Vol.  II. 


230  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

last  column  ....  shows  that  in  both  of  the  comparative 
experiments  more  food  was  consumed  to  produce  a  given  amount 
of  increase  with  Thorley's  Food  than  without. " 

362.  Nutriotone. —  This  condiment  has  been  extensively  adver- 
tised in  the  East  as  a  food-medicine  for  farm  animals,  with  the 
following  directions  for  dairy  cows:  "Give  two  large  tablespoon- 
fuls  with  each  feed.     This  will  produce  a  great  increase  of  much 
richer  milk." 

Nutriotone  was  tested  by  the  Vermont1  and  Maine  Stations.  * 
No  advantages  followed  its  use  at  the  Yermont  Station. 
The  following  summarizes  the  findings  at  the  Maine  Station: 

Milk.  Fat. 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Average  for  twenty-one  days  without  nutriotorie 2 , 281  101 

Average  for  twenty-one  days  with  nutriotone 2 , 264  101 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  condiment  was  practically  without 
effect. 

363.  Condimental  foods  not  recommended. —  The  basis  of  the 
better  class  of  condimental  foods  is  flax-seed  meal,  oil  meal  or 
the  by-products  from  oleaginous  seeds,  locust-bean  meal,  etc. 
They  are  spiced  with  anise,  cumin  and  other  aromatic  seeds. 
Fenugreek,  slippery-elm  bark,  charcoal,  common  salt,  saltpeter, 
copperas,  etc.,  are  added  according  to  the  notions  of  the  com- 
pounder.     Turmeric  is  sometimes  used  to  give  a  yellow  color. 

As  to  these  nostrums  it  may  be  said  that  vigorous,  healthy 
animals  do  not  make  better  use  of  their  feed  because  of  their 
addition.  If  animals  are  out  of  condition  they  should  receive 
specific  treatment  according  to  their  ailments.  A  good  manager 
of  live  stock  will  have  no  use  for  these  high-priced  condimental 
foods  or  condition  powders;  a  poor  manager  will  never  have  fine- 
stock  by  employing  them. 


1  Rept.  1894. 
*  Kept.  1896. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SOILING  CATTLE  —  PREPARATION  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS. 
I.  Soiling. 

364.  Advantages  of  soiling.— By  " soiling'7  is  meant  supplying 
forage  fresh  from  the  fields  to  farm  stock  more  or  less  confined. 
The  first  American  writer  to  bring  this  subject  to  the  attention  of 
our  people  was  Josiah  Quincy,  whose   admirable    essays,    first 
printed  in  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Journal  in  1820,  were 
later  gathered  into  a  little  book  entitled  "  The  Soiling  of  Cattle,7' 
now  out  of  print. 

Quincy  points  out  six  distinct  advantages  from  soiling:  First, 
the  saving  of  land;  second,  the  saving  of  fencing;  third,  the  econo- 
mizing of  food;  fourth,  the  better  condition  and  greater  comfort 
of  the  cattle;  fifth,  the  greater  product  of  milk;  sixth,  the  attain- 
ment of  manure. 

According  to  this  author  there  are  six  ways  in  which  farm 
animals  destroy  the  articles  destined  for  their  food.  First,  by 
eating;  second,  by  walking;  third,  by  dunging;  fourth,  by  staling; 
fifth,  by  lying  down;  sixth,  by  breathing  on  it.  Of  these  six,  the 
first  only  is  useful;  all  the  others  are  wasteful. 

Quincy  reports  his  own  experience  where  twenty  cows,  kept 
in  stalls,  were  fed  green  food  supplied  six  times  a  day.  They 
were  allowed  exercise  in  an  open  yard.  These  twenty  cows  sub- 
sisted on  the  green  crops  from  seventeen  acres  of  land  where  fifty 
acres  had  previously  been  required. 

365.  Station  findings. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station, l  the  writer 
kept  three  cows  for  the  summer  on  an  excellent  blue-grass  pasture. 
During  the  same  period  three  other  cows  were  maintained  in 
stable  and  yard  by  soiling.     The  cows  in  the  pasture  consumed 

1  Kept.  1885. 


232 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


the  grass  fron  3.7  acres;  the  soiled  cows  ate  the  forage  from  1.5 

acres.     The  yield  of  forage  was  as  follows: 

Pounds. 

Green  clover,  three  cuttings 18,792 

Green  fodder  corn 23,658 

Green  oats 2,385 

Waste  from  the  above 1,655 

Total  green  forage  eaten,  from  1.5  acres 43 , 180 

The  products  obtained  were  as  follows: 

Pasture  and  soiling  crops  compared —  Wisconsin  Station. 


From  3.7 
acres  past- 
ure. 

From  one 
acre  past- 
ure. 

From  1.5 

acres  soil- 
ing crops. 

From  one 
acre  soil- 
ing crops. 

Milk  

Lbs. 
6,583 

Lbs. 
1,780 

Lbs. 
7,173 

Lbs. 

4,782 

Butter  

303 

82 

294 

196 

This  shows  that  in  Wisconsin  one  acre  of  soiling  crop  equals 
about  two  and  one-half  acres  of  good  blue-grass  pasture  for  feed- 
ing dairy  cows. 

At  the  Pennsylvania  Station,  *  during  a  test  of  soiling  versus 
pasture,  Armsby  secured  the  following  results  in  digestible  organic 

matter  and  albuminoids: 

Digestible  Digestible 

organic  matter,  albuminoids. 

Pounds.  Pounds. 

Yield  of  one  acre  of  pasture 1,125  249 

Yield  of  one  acre  of  rye  and  corn 5,776  328 

Yield  of  one  acre  of  clover  and  corn 5,914  374 

At  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Station,2  Phelps  maintained  four 
cows  from  June  1  to  November  1  on  soiling  crops  produced  on 
two  and  one-half  acres  of  land. 

At  the  Iowa  Station, 3  Wilson  maintained  three  cows  in  a  dark- 
ened stable  on  soiling  crops  during  the  summer,  while  three 
others  were  given  the  range  of  "one  of  the  best  blue-grass 
pastures  in  the  state,  well  shaded  with  occasional  trees  and  in 
places  by  dense  woods,  with  water  accessible. ' 7  The  trial  began 
June  20,  and  continued  until  August  8,  when  the  cows  confined 


Kept.  1889. 


2  Bui.  9. 


8  Bui.  15. 


Soiling. 


233 


in  the  stable  were  turned  to  pasture  and  those  which  had  been 
in  pasture  were  soiled  in  the  stable.  The  second  part  of  the  trial 
continued  until  September  26.  The  yield  of  milk  and  butter  for 

the  whole  period  was  as  follows: 

Milk,  Fat, 

pounds.  pounds. 

From  three  cows  kept  in  stable 7,216  254 

From  three  cows  in  pasture 7,287  259 

The  cattle  kept  indoors  steadily  gained  in  weight,  while  those 
in  the  pasture  lost. 

366.  Soiling  crops. —  Where  cattle  are  maintained  by  soiling, 
provision  should  be  made  for  a  succession  of  green  crops  for  con- 
tinuous feeding.  In  the  table  below,  Lindsey1  gives  the  crops 
required  for  the  complete  soiling  of  ten  cows: 

Oops,  and  areas  for  same,  for  soiling  ten  cows  during  the  entire 
summer  —  Massachusetts  (Hatch)  Station. 


Crop. 

Seed  per  acre. 

Time  of 
seeding. 

Area. 

Time  of  cutting. 

Rye  

2bu  

Sept.  10-15... 
Sept  10-15  
July  15-Aug.l 

Sept 

£  acre 
|acre 
I  acre 

facre 

£acre 
Jacre 
£acre 

Jacre 
^  acre 

May  20-May  30 
June  1-June  15 
June  15-Jime  25 

June  15-June  30 

June  25-July  10 
July  10-July  20 
June  25-July  10 

July  10-July  20 

July  25-Aug.  20 

Aug.  10-Aug.  20 
Aug.  25-Sept.  15 
Aug.  25-Sept.  10 
Sept.  10-Sept.  20 
Sept.  20-Sept.  30 

Oct.  1-Oct.  20 

Wheat  

2bu  

Red  clover 

20  Ibs 

Grass  and  clover 

Vetch  and  oats.. 
Vetch  and  oats.. 
Peas  and  oats  ... 

Peas  and  oats... 

Barnyard  millet 
Barnyard  millet 
Soja  bean  

(i  bu.  red  top...] 
J  bu.  timothy.  [• 
101bs.r.cloverJ 
(3  bu.  oats  ) 
\501bs.  vetch.../ 
50  Ibs.  vetch  
f  1£  bu.  Canada) 
\l|  bu.  oats  / 
f  H  bu.  Canada  \ 
\l|bu.  oats  / 
1  peck  

April  20  

April  30 

April  20  .. 

April  30  
May  10  . 

1  peck  
18  quarts  

May  25  
May  20  

i  acre 
-  acre 

Corn 

May  20 

£acre 
J  acre 

Corn  . 

May  30.   . 

Hungarian 

1  bu  

July  15  

\  acre 

Barley  and  peas 

/l£bu.  peas  \ 
\l|bu.  barley.../ 

Ausf.  5  ... 

lacre 

The  above  will  prove  a  guide  for  many,  though  all  may  not 
be  able  to  follow  in  detail  all  the  directions  given. 3 

*  Bui.  39,  Mass.  (Hatch)  Sta. 

2  For  soiling  crops  recommended  by  Phelps,  see  Bui.  8,  Conn.  (Storrs) 
8ta. 


234  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

367.  Labor  involved. —  Many  who  recognize  the  advantages  of 
soiling  are  deterred  from  practicing  it,  arguing  that  the  large 
amount  of  labor  required  in  supplying  the  green  forage  daily 
more  than  offsets  the  benefits  derived.     There  is  both  misconcep- 
tion and  lack  of  knowledge  on  this  point.     Wilson1  shows  that  if 
green  forage  is  gathered  twice  a  week,  and  spread  not  too  thickly 
on  the  barn  floor,  it  will  keep  in  good  condition  until  required  for 
feeding.     Most  of  the  crops  used  can  be  cut  with  a  mower  and 
gathered  by  the  hay  rake  or  loaded  directly  by  means  of  the  hay 
loader.     Even  if  pitched  by  hand,  a  large  quantity  of  material 
can  be  gathered  in  a  very  short  time.     A  dairy  cow  or  steer  will 
require  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  pounds  of  green  forage  daily. 

368.  Partial  soiling. —  So  revolutionary  is  the  practice  of  com- 
plete soiling  that  few  stockmen  are  ready  to  adopt  it  at  once,  even 
when  conceding  the  merits  of  the  system.     Partial  soiling  is  prac- 
ticable with  all  and  should  be  followed  on  every  well-managed 
stock  farm.     The  usual  midsummer  shrinkage  in  the  milk  flow  of 
dairy  cows  and  of  flesh  with  beef  cattle  can  be  prevented  by  hous- 
ing the  stock  in  darkened  stables,  if  flies  are  troublesome,  during 
the  heated  portion  of  the  day,  and  feeding  them  liberally  with 
green  forage.     At  night  the  cattle  can  be  turned  to  pasture  for 
exercise  and  grazing.     Because  of  the  extra  allowance  of  proven- 
der supplied  during  the  most  trying  time  of  the  year,  fattening 
steers  will  continue  their  gains,  the  young  stock  will  not  cease 
growing,  and  dairy  cows  will  yield  the  normal  flow  of  milk. 
Usually  it  will  be  found  profitable  to  continue  supplying  extra 
feed  during  the  fall,  even  though  the  pastures  have  in  part  recov- 
ered their  ability  to  supply  nutriment.     Partial  soiling  rightly 
followed  will  be  found  a  most  profitable  practice  on  many  farms. 
By  it  more  stock  can  be  kept  than  on  pastures  only,  and  more 
even  gains  will  be  made  during  the  season  by  all  stock  so  fed. 

In  using  soiling  crops  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  growing, 
immature  plants  consist  largely  of  water,  and  often  cattle  cannot 
consume  enough  of  such  forage  to  gain  the  nourishment  they 
require.  For  this  reason,  where  the  crops  are  quite  green,  some 
dry  forage  should  be  supplied  in  addition  to  the  green. 

1  Bui.  15,  Iowa  Sta. 


Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs.  235 

The  use  of  silage  will  greatly  extend  the  practice  of  soiling.  A 
corn  crop  stored  in  the  fall  may  be  partially  fed  out  during  winter 
and  the  remainder  utilized  as  needed  during  the  summer.  Many 
dairymen  are  making  use  of  the  silo  for  summer  feeding,  with 
excellent  results. 

Where  lands  are  high  priced,  or  where  the  stockman  desires  to 
keep  a  large  number  of  cattle  upon  a  limited  acreage,  soiling  is 
the  best  possible  means  to  that  end.  Cattle  fed  by  soiling  should 
always  be  allowed  exercise  in  the  open  lot  where  they  can  enjoy 
the  sunshine  and  fresh  air.  This  can  be  provided  by  making  use 
of  a  small  pasture. 

II.  Preparation  of  Feed  for  Live  Stock. 

369.  Concerning  cooked  feed. —  The  early  writers  on  agriculture 
usually  recommended  the  cooking  or  steaming  of  all  kinds  of  feed. 
In  1812  Arthur  Young  l  described  a  gruel  for  stock  which  he 
claimed  to  be  exceedingly  nutritious  and  economical. 

Morton,  author  of  the  Cyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  recommended 
cooking  or  steaming  feed.  Later  writers,  however,  have  advanced 
the  strongest  arguments. 

Prof.  Mapes  wrote:2  "Kaw  food  is  not  in  condition  to  be  ap- 
proximated to  the  tissues  of  animal  life.  The  experiment,  often 
tried,  has  proved  that  eighteen  or  nineteen  pounds  of  cooked  corn 
are  equal  to  fifty  pounds  of  raw  corn  for  hog  feed.77 

Joseph  Sullivant,  a  member  of  the  Ohio  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture, wrote:3  "I  conclude  that  nine  pounds  of  pork  from  a 
bushel  of  raw  corn  fed  in  the  ear,  twelve  pounds  from  raw  meal, 
thirteen  and  a  half  pounds  from  boiled  corn,  and  sixteen  and  a 
half  pounds  from  cooked  meal,  is  no  more  than  a  moderate  aver- 
age the  feeder  may  expect  to  realize  from  a  bushel  of  corn  under 
ordinary  circumstances  of  weather,  with  dry  and  clean  feeding 
pens.  All  this  is  within  the  amounts  we  have  shown  to  be  prob- 
able and  attainable  upon  our  chemical  basis. " 

Other  authorities  could  be  quoted,  but  these  suffice  to  show  that 
the  teachers  were  generally  in  favor  of  cooking  food  for  stock. 

1 A  system  of  preparing  corn,  etc.,  for  the  cheaper  feeding  of  horses,  etc. 
2  Trans.  Am.  lust.,  1854,  p.  373. 
*  Kept.  Ohio  Bd.  Agr., 


236  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

So  much  for  theory: — what  are  the  results  of  experiment  and 
experience  1 

370.  Steaming    roughage  for  cattle. —  Fifty  years  ago  there 
could  be  found  in  this  country  a  number  of  establishments,  more 
or  less  elaborate   and  expensive,  designed  for  the  purpose  of 
steaming  or  boiling  forage  for  cattle.     The  work  was  usually 
undertaken  by  men  of  means,  and  was  sometimes  carried  out 
with  much  detail  and  often  at  considerable  expense.     It  is  signif- 
icant that  none  of  these  practices  was  long  maintained. 

Experiments  with  feeding  steamed  hay  to  oxen,  made  at  Pop- 
elsdorf, J  showed  very  decisively  that  steaming  rendered  the  com- 
ponents of  hay  less  digestible;  especially  was  this  true  of  the 
protein.  When  the  hay  was  fed  dry,  46  per  cent,  of  the  protein 
was  digested,  while  only  30  per  cent,  was  digested  from  the 
steamed  hay.  (664) 

We  may  summarize  the  results  of  cooking  coarse  forage  for 
cattle  by  quoting  the  reply  to  an  inquirer  given  many  years  ago 
by  the  editor  of  an  agricultural  journal:2  "The  advantages  are 
very  slight  and  not  worth  the  trouble  of  either  building  the  fire, 
cutting  the  wood  or  erecting  the  apparatus,  to  say  nothing  of  all 
these  combined,  with  danger  and  insurance  added. " 

371.  Cooking  feed  for  swine. —  While  the  practice  of  steaming 
roughage  for  cattle  has  been  universally  abandoned  wherever 
undertaken,  much  is  still  said  concerning  the  advantages  of  cook- 
ing feed  for  swine.     This  subject  has  been  carefully  investigated 
at  our  Stations  with  practically  concordant  results,  so  that  we  are 
not  without  definite  help  on  an  important  topic. 

Elsewhere  (836)  is  given  a  summary  of  numerous  trials  with 
cooked  and  uncooked  feed  for  swine  conducted  at  the  Experiment 
Stations  of  this  country  with  the  surprising  result  of  an  average 
loss  of  6  per  cent,  in  the  value  of  the  feed  because  of  cooking. 
The  reader  will  be  interested  in  the  opinions  of  the  various  ex- 
perimenters who  conducted  the  feeding  trials. 

Shelton, 3  concluding  an  account  of  a  feeding  trial  where  cooked 

*  Hornberger,  Landw.  Jahrb.  VIII.  933;  see  Armsby.  Manual  of  Cat- 
tle Feeding,  p.  266. 

2  Country  Gentleman,  1861,  p.  112. 

3  Kept.  Prof.  Agr.,  Kan.  Agr.  Col.,  1885. 


Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs.  237 

proved  inferior  to  uncooked,  wrote:  "The  figures  given 
above  need  but  little  comment.  They  show  as  conclusively  as 
figures  can  show  anything  that  the  cooked  corn  was  less  useful 
than  the  raw  grain.  .  .  .  Such  an  entire  unanimity  of  results 
can  only  be  explained  upon  the  theory  that  the  cooking  was  an 
injurious  process  so  far  as  its  use  for  food  for  fattening  animals  is 
concerned. " 

Brown,  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College, l  conducted  several 
trials  with  cooked  and  uncooked  peas  and  corn  and  gives  his  con- 
clusions as  follows:  "I  am  not  at  present  prepared  to  say  defi- 
nitely what  other  kinds  of  food  may  do,  raw  or  cooked,  with  pigs- 
or  other  domestic  animals,  or  how  the  other  animals  will  thrive 
with  peas  or  corn,  raw  or  boiled,  but  I  now  assert,  on  the  strongest 
possible  grounds,  «...  that  for  fast  and  cheap  production 
of  pork  raw  peas  are  fifty  per  cent,  better  than  cooked  peas  or 
Indian  corn  in  any  shape.'7 

The  trustees  of  the  Maine  College,2  summing  up  the  results 
obtained  at  that  institution  of  nine  years'  continuous  feeding  of 
cooked  and  uncooked  corn  meal  to  pigs,  wrote:  "The  results 
have  in  every  case  pointed  to  the  superior  value  of  uncooked 
meal  for  the  production  of  pork." 

No  one  can  review  the  accumulation  of  experimental  data  from 
our  Stations,  all  substantially  adverse  to  cooking  feed  for  swine, 
without  being  convinced  that  the  matter  is  practically  settled  so 
far  as  most  feeding  stuffs  are  concerned.  A  few  feeds  appear  to 
require  the  modifying  influence  of  heat  and  moisture  to  render 
them  palatable  and  digestible  with  stock.  Potatoes  cannot  be 
successfully  fed  to  swine  in  any  quantity  unless  they  are  first 
cooked,  and  roots  are  more  palatable  if  cooked  and  meal  is  added 
to  the  mass.  The  writer  has  shown  that  pigeon-grass  seed  must 
be  cooked  to  be  satisfactorily  consumed  by  swine.  This  treat- 
ment is  doubtless  made  necessary  by  the  thick,  woody  seed- coats 
of  this  grain. 

Feeders  should  not  confuse  the  effects  of  cooked  feeds  upon  farm 
stock  with  the  advantages  of  supplying  them  with  warm  feed  in 
palatable  form.  To  the  assertion  that  stockmen  who  cook  feed 

1  Bept.  1876.  *  Kept.  Me.  State  Col.,  1878. 


238  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

have  the  finest  animals,  the  writer  ventures  the  opinion  that  one 
who  is  willing  to  cook  feed  will  usually  give  his  animals  many 
attentions  which  feeders  generally  pass  by  as  not  worthy  of  their 
time  or  notice.  It  is  this  extra  care  and  the  larger  variety  of 
feeds  usually  supplied  rather  than  the  cooking  which  make  ani- 
mals of  superior  quality.  For  the  purpose  of  affording  variety, 
the  various  grains,  roots  and  tubers,  together  with  clover  or 
alfalfa  chaff,  may  be  boiled  or  steamed  for  pigs  and  used  as  a  part 
of  the  ration.  The  advantages  of  a  limited  quantity  of  such  feed, 
when  grain  constitutes  the  remainder  of  the  ration,  are  con- 
ceded. 

372.  Cooked  feed  for  horses. —  Supplying  a  limited  quantity  of 
cooked  feed  to  horses  is  practiced  to  some  extent  in  Europe  and 
this  country.     MacNeilage  *  reports  that  the  use  of  boiled  feed 
for  horses  is  growing  less  common  in  the  west  of  Scotland. 

An  excellent  feed  for  horses  is  made  by  boiling  barley  and  oats 
in  a  kettle  with  considerable  water  and  pouring  the  mass  over 
chaffed  hay,  allowing  the  whole  to  stand  until  the  hay  is  well 
softened.  Bran,  roots  and  a  small  quantity  of  oil  meal  may  be 
added  to  the  pottage.  Boiled  feed  is  useful  with  colts,  brood 
mares  and  stallions  when  fed  two  or  three  times  a  week.  It  may 
be  fed  once  a  day  to  draft  horses  which  are  in  preparation  for  sale 
or  exhibition. 

373.  Artificial  digestion  trials.— At  the  New  York  (Geneva) 
Station,2  Ladd  determined  artificially  the  digestibility  of  the 
nitrogenous  portion  of  several  common  feeding  stuffs  before  and 
after  cooking,  with  the  results  shown  below: 

Digestion  trials  with  cooJced  and   uncooked  feeding  stuffs —  New 
"York  (Geneva}  Station. 


Feeding  stuff. 

Per  cent,  nitrogenous  sub- 
stance digested. 

Uncooked. 

Cooked. 

Fresh  corn  meal  

68.6 
72.6 
67.7 
87.7 

60.5 
63.2 
53.3 

73.8 

Old  corn  meal  

Cotton-seed  meal... 

1  Trans.  High,  and  Agr.  Soc.,  1890.  2  Kept.  1885. 


Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs.  239 

In  every  instance  more  of  the  nitrogenous  substance  was  digested 
from  the  uncooked  than  from  the  cooked  food.  These  results  are 
substantiated  by  the  investigations  of  others. 

374.  The  function  of  cooked  food. —  A  limited  allowance  of 
steamed  or  cooked  grain  mingled  with  chaffed  hay  or  roots  is 
helpful  to  horses  because  of  favorable  action  on  the  digestive  tract. 
Growing  pigs  and  breeding  swine  are  often  materially  aided  by  a 
reasonable  allowance  of  boiled  or  steamed  clover  or  alfalfa  chaff, 
roots  or  tubers  to  which  meal  has  been  added.     Such  food  pos- 
sesses considerable  volume  —  a  desirable  characteristic  for  feeds 
designed  for  the  class  of  stock  mentioned.     It  is  not  conceded 
that  feeds  are  generally  rendered  more  digestible  by  the  action  of 
moist  heat,  but  rather  that  their  palatability  has  been  increased 
and  the  physical   character  of  the  compounds  thus  prepared 
made  such  as  to  render  them  desirable  for  animals  under  cer- 
tain conditions.     As  a  general  proposition  it  may  be  stated  that 
it  does  not  pay  to  cook  food  for  stock  when  such  food  will  be  satis- 
factorily consumed  without  cooking,  for  cooking  does  not  increase 
the  digestibility  of  feeding  stuffs,  but  may  lower  it,  and  there  is 
considerable  expense  involved  in  the  operation. 

375.  Soaking  feed. —  Corn  often  becomes  hard  and  flinty  a  few 
months  after  husking,    and  causes  sore  mouths  with  fattening 
animals.     So  little  of  such  feed  is  then  eaten  that  gains  may  en- 
tirely cease  or  the  animals  even  fall  back  in  weight.     Grain  which 
is  difficult  of  mastication  should  either  be  ground  or  soaked  to 
such  degree  of  softness  as  will  allow  the  animals  to  consume  full 
rations  without  difficulty.  Soaking  can  hardly  increase  the  digesti- 
bility of  feeds,  though  it  may  indirectly  do  so  by  permitting  bet- 
ter mastication  and  thereby  more  complete  action  of  the  digestive 
fluids.   (477,  537,  665,  758,  837) 

376.  Chaff,  or  cut  hay  and  straw. —  The  practice  of  running  hay 
and  straw  through  the  feed  cutter,  or  chaffing  it,  is  almost  uni- 
versal in  establishments  where  large  numbers  of  horses  are  kept; 
it  is  not  common  on  ordinary  stock  farms.     Moore1  some  years 
since  addressed  letters  to  well-known  agriculturists  of  England 
asking  for  information  on  this  topic.     He  ascertained  that  70  per 

1  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1888. 


240  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

cent,  of  those  replying  chaffed  the  hay  and  straw  fed  their  stock, 
while  20  per  cent,  followed  partial  chaffing,  and  10  per  cent,  were 
adverse  to  the  practice. 

377.  Advantages  of  chaffing. —  The  advantages  of  chaffing  (cut- 
ting) hay  in  establishments  where  large  numbers  of  animals  are 
fed  are  apparent  upon  a  little  reflection.     In  such  places  the 
hay  if  long  occupies  too  much  space,  litters  up  the  building,  and 
the   attendants  are  not  readily  able  to  supply  each  animal  its 
proper  allowance.     Where  hay  is  chaffed,  the  addition  of  a  small 
amount  of  water  lays  the  dust,  and  the  helper  can  rapidly  and 
accurately  measure  the  quantity  ordered  for  each  animal.     These 
advantages  do  not  hold  with  the  same  force  on  stock  farms,  where 
the  feeder  personally  supervises  the  supply  of  provender  to  a 
comparatively  limited  number  of  animals.     Again,  when  hay  and 
straw  are  chaffed,  then  moistened,  and  meal  added,  the  mixture 
is  in  condition  to  be  rapidly  masticated  and  swallowed,  so  that  the 
nutriment  has  a  longer  time  to  remain  in  the  stomach  for  diges- 
tion than  is  possible  where  long,  dry  hay  is  fed.     This  is  an  item 
of  importance  with  hard-worked  horses  which  are  in  the  stable 
only  at  night.     Horses  not  hard  worked,  fattening  cattle,  and 
farm  stock  generally,  have  ample  time  for  mastication  and  diges- 
tion, and  with  these  there  is  less  necessity,  or  none,  for  chaffing 
hay  and  straw. 

378.  Cutting  and  shredding  corn  forage. —  Corn  forage,  because 
of  the  coarseness  of  the  stalks,  is  an  unsatisfactory  material  to 
handle  in  the  stable  unless  it  has  first  been  run  through  the  cutter 
or  shredder.     Eeduced  to  fragments  by  cutting  or  shredding,  this 
forage  causes  little  trouble,  and  the  waste,  if  any,  is  excellent  for 
bedding. 

The  value  of  cut  or  shredded  corn  stalks  for  feeding  purposes 
will  vary  according  to  the  character  of  the  fodder  used,  the 
animals  to  which  it  is  fed  and  the  manner  of  feeding. 

At  the  Kansas  Station, l  Shelton  experimented  with  stover  cut 
in  lengths  varying  from  one- fourth  inch  to  two  inches,  the  trials 
extending  through  three  seasons.  Instead  of  most  of  the  cut 
fodder  being  consumed  by  the  cows,  there  was  an  average  waste 

i  Kept.  1889. 


Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs. 


241 


of  31  per  cent,  of  all  the  cut  fodder.  During  one  season's  trial  it 
was  observed  that  the  finer  the  fodder  was  cut  the  larger  the  pro- 
portion of  waste.  This  investigator  summarized  his  conclusions 
for  Kansas  conditions  as  follows:  "I  am  abundantly  satisfied  from 
accurate  experiments  made  to  test  the  point,  and  from  a  large  gen- 
eral experience,  that  the  chief,  almost  only,  value  of  cutting  fodder 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  such  chopped  fodder  can  be  placed  in  the 
manger  and  generally  handled  much  more  conveniently  than  the 
unchopped." 

379.  Results  of  shredding  stover. —  Quite  contrary  results  were 
obtained  by  the  writer  in  a  series  of  trials  at  the  Wisconsin  Sta- 
tion, J  in  which  shredded  corn  fodder  or  stover  was  used.  In  these 
trials  the  same  amount  of  grain  and  hay  was  fed  to  each  lot  of  cows 
on  trial.  Those  fed  whole  roughage  were  supplied  with  such  quan- 
tity as  seemed  necessary  to  their  wants,  for  they  could  not  be 
made  to  consume  the  coarser  portions  of  the  long  stalks,  with  the 
partial  exception  next  noted.  In  the  third  trial  Stowell's  Ever- 
green sweet  corn  fodder,  carrying  a  considerable  quantity  of  ears, 
was  fed.  The  stalks  of  this  fodder  were  soft  and  pliable,  and 
when  fed  whole  the  cows  consumed  almost  all  of  them,  leaving 
only  143  pounds  of  stalks  out  of  1,600  pounds  of  fodder  fed. 

Summary  of  three  trials  when  feeding  shredded  and  unshredded  corn 
forage  to  dairy  cows —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Stover 
fed. 

Stover 
eaten. 

Milk 
produced. 

First  trial. 
Shredded  stover  

Lbs. 
721 

Lbs. 
All 

Lbs, 
1  387 

Uncut  stover  

1,133 

975 

1  419 

Second  trial. 
Shredded  stover  

1,217 

All 

1  418 

Uncut  stover 

1  934 

1  356 

1  439 

Third  trial. 
Shredded  fodder  r.  

1,600 

All 

989 

Uiicut  fodder  .  .. 

1  600 

1  457 

872 

-L,  YJI 

1  Kept.  1886. 
16 


242 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Summarizing  the  preceding  data,  we  have:  When  feeding  corn 
forage  with  hay  and  grain,  the  cows  getting  — 

3,538  pounds  shredded  stover  or  fodder  produced  3,794  pounds  of  milk. 
4,667  pounds  unshredded  stover  or  fodder  produced  3,730  pounds  of  milk. 

If  we  count  the  milk  returns  equal  for  the  two  lots, — though 
they  are  slightly  in  favor  of  the  cows  getting  the  shredded  fod- 
der,—  we  have  a  saving  of  24  per  cent,  of  corn  forage  by  using  it 
in  shredded  form. 

Here  are  different  results  from  thoso  secured  by  Shelton.  How 
can  they  be  harmonized  f  In  the  first  place,  the  stalks  used  by 
Shelton  were  much  coarser  and  harsher  than  those  grown  in  Wis- 
consin, and  it  is  probable  that  his  cattle  were  offered  such  liberal 
quantities  of  forage  that  they  naturally  chose  the  softer  portions, 
wasting  the  remainder.  Again,  it  is  possible  that  the  sharp  edges 
of  the  fine- cut  corn  stalks  made  the  mouths  of  the  cattle  sore,  so 
that  they  could  not  eat  forage  as  they  otherwise  would. 

380.  Long  hay  and  dry  feed. —  At  the  Maine  Station,1  Jordan 
fed  rations  of  long  hay  and  chaffed  hay  as  follows: 

During  the  first  and  third  periods,  each  lasting  thirty  days,  five 
cows  were  fed  long  hay  with  an  allowance  of  dry  grain  fed  sep- 
arately. During  the  intermediate  period  the  cows  were  fed  the 
same  amount  of  hay  chopped  fine,  with  the  same  quantity  of  meal 
as  before.  The  cut  hay  and  meal  were  first  mixed,  then  wet, 
and  the  mixture  allowed  to  stand  for  several  hours  before  feeding. 
The  middle  period  lasted  fifty -one  days. 

Yield  of  milk  and  butter  from  cows  fed  wet  and  dry  rations  —  Maine 

Station. 


Periods 

Average  yielc 

,  five  cows. 

Milk. 

Butter. 

Lbs. 
130.1 

Lbs. 
5.4 

III    Long  hay,  fed  dry  

100.5 

3.8 

Average  of  two  periods           

115.3 

4.6 

II.  Hay  chaffed  mixed  with  grain,  fed  wet.. 

113.2 

4.24 

Kept.  1890. 


Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs. 


243 


We  learn  from  the  above  that  the  cows  did  somewhat  better  on 
the  long  hay  and  dry  feed,  both  for  milk  and  butter,  than  on  the 
same  feed  supplied  in  chaff  form,  wet  and  mixed  with  grain. 

381.  Wet  chaffed  hay  for  calves. —  At  the  Iowa  Station, l  Speer 
divided  a  bunch  of  six  calves  into  two  lots  of  three  each.  To  one 
lot  was  fed  corn  and  cob  meal  morning  and  evening,  with  dry,  long 
timothy  hay  given  after  the  meal  had  been  consumed.  For  the 
other  lot  the  feeding  was  as  follows:  Some  hay  was  run  through 
the  feed-cutter  and  moistened.  Over  this  was  sprinkled  the  corn 
and  cob  meal,  and  the  whole  thoroughly  mixed.  An  hour  and  a 
half  after  the  wet  grain  and  hay  mixture  had  been  fed  the  calves 
were  supplied  with  dry,  long  hay. 

Feeding  dry  meal,  and  meal  on  moistened  hay,  to  calves  —  Iowa  Station. 


Average 
weight  at 
beginning. 

Average 
gain. 

Grain  for 
100  pounds 
gain. 

Meal  fed  drv  

Lbs. 
452 

Lbs. 

75.8 

Lbs. 
542 

Meal  fed  wet,  mixed  with  hay  

480 

68.4 

600 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  calves  fed  the  dry  meal  gained  some- 
what more  than  the  others,  and  required  less  feed  for  one  hundred 
pounds  of  gain. 

382.  Grinding  grain. —  This  subject  is  a  difficult  one  to  discuss 
owing  to  the  great  variety  of  conditions  existing  as  to  both  grain 
and  animals.  Directions  are  here  given  which  may  serve  to 
guide  the  feeder  in  his  practice.  For  horses  which  are  out  of  the 
stable  during  the  day  and  worked  hard,  all  grain,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  oats,  should  be  ground.  For  those  at  extremely  hard 
work,  all  grain  should  be  ground  and  mixed  with  chaffed  hay. 
For  idle  horses,  oats  or  corn  should  not  be  ground,  nor  need  the 
hay  or  straw  be  chaffed.  A  cow  yielding  a  large  flow  of  milk 
should  be  regarded  as  a  hard-working  animal  and  her  feed  pre- 
pared accordingly.  (633)  Fattening  steers  and  pigs  may  be 
crowded  more  rapidly  with  meal  than  with  whole  grain,  though 
there  is  more  danger  attendant  upon  its  use.  (536,  539)  Sheep 

1  Bui.  12. 


244  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

worth  feeding  can  always  grind  their  own  grain.  In  general,  idle 
animals  and  those  having  ample  time  for  mastication,  rumination 
and  digestion  do  not  need  their  grain  or  roughage  prepared  as 
carefully  as  do  those  with  only  limited  time  for  these  essential 
operations.  Experiments  quite  generally  show  increased  gains 
from  grinding  grain,  but  in  many  cases  they  are  not  sufficient  to 
pay  the  cost  of  grinding.  (848) 

383.  Preparing  roots. —  Boots  are  prepared  for  stock  either  by 
slicing  or  pulping.  For  sheep  they  should  be  cut  into  small,  shor£ 
pieces.  Boots  reduced  to  pulp  are  fed  with  chaffed  hay  and  straw 
to  steers  and  cows  with  excellent  results.  The  method  of  prep- 
aration is  as  follows:  *A  layer  of  chaffed  hay  or  straw  is  spread 
upon  the  barn  floor  and  over  this  is  placed  one  of  root-pulp,  fol- 
lowed by  chaff,  and  then  pulp  again  until  the  heap  reaches  the 
desired  size.  Sometimes  oil  meal,  corn  meal  or  other  grain  is 
added.  After  forming  the  layers  the  mass  is  shoveled  over 
until  the  ingredients  are  thoroughly  mixed,  after  which  it  is  al- 
lowed to  stand  until  the  next  day,  by  which  time  a  slight  fermen- 
tation has  started  and  the  mixture  is  ready  for  feeding.  This 
system  has  value  on  farms  where  it  is  desirable  to  feed  large 
quantities  of  straw  or  low-grade  hay  which  would  otherwise  be 
refused  or  wasted  by  the  animals.  The  serious  objection  to  the 
practice  is  the  large  amount  of  labor  involved,  yet  it  is  advan- 
tageous in  some  cases. 


CHAPTEE  XY. 


THE  ENSILAGE  OF  FODDERS. 


Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents. 


Variety  of  silage. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Corn  

Lbs. 

20.9 
28.0 
23.9 
27.5 
32.0 
20.7 
25.8 

21.0 
24.0 

Lbs. 

0.9 
2.0 
0.6 
3.0 
1.9 
1.5 
2.7 

1.6 
1.6 

Lbs. 

11.3 
13.5 
14.9 
8.5 
13.4 
8.6 
8.7 

9.2 
13.0 

Lbs. 

0.7 
1.0 
0.2 
1.9 
1.6 
0.9 
1.3 

0.7 
0.7 

Lbs. 

2.8 

Lbs. 
1.1 

Lbs. 
3.7 

Clover  

Sorghum  

Alfalfa  

Grass  

Cowpea  vine  

Soja  bean  

Barn-yard  millet  and  soja 
bean  

Corn  and  soja  bean  

384.  Permanency  of  this  method  of  food   preservation. — For 

more  than  two  decades  the  subject  of  silos  and  silage  has  been 
prominently  before  the  American  farmer  for  consideration.  Much 
space  has  been  given  to  the  matter  by  the  agricultural  press 
and  much  time  devoted  to  discussions  in  relation  thereto  in  agri- 
cultural gatherings.  Unfortunately  for  this  form  of  food  preser- 
vation extravagant  claims  were  advanced  in  its  behalf  by  some 
of  its  early  enthusiastic  advocates.  These  naturally  aroused  the 
suspicion  of  conservative  people,  who  looked  upon  the  matter  as 
something  for  the  day  only  and  unworthy  of  thoughtful  consider- 
ation or  investigation.  Silos  and  silage  have  outlasted  their  over- 
zealous  friends,  and  through  the  experience  of  practical  feeders 
and  the  investigations  of  our  Experiment  Stations  we  are  now 
able  to  discuss  the  subject  intelligently.  Because  corn  is  the  great 
silo  crop,  a  consideration  of  the  matter  turns  upon  the  relative 


246 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


merits  of  fodder  corn  dried  in  the  ordinary  way  and  preserved  by 
the  system  of  ensilage. 

385.  Relative  losses  in  drying  and  ensilage. —  The  following 
table  presents  data  gathered  at  several  Stations  relative  to  the 
losses  incurred  in  preserving  green  corn  forage  by  shocking  and  by 
ensilage.  In  these  trials  a  quantity  of  fodder  was  cut  and  placed 
in  the  shock  or  stook.  In  some  cases  the  shocks  remained  in  the 
field  untouched  until  winter ;  in  others  they  were  made  into 
larger  shocks,  or  were  placed  in  the  barn  for  protection.  At  the 
time  of  cutting  and  shocking  the  corn,  another  equal  portion  from 
the  same  field  was  placed  in  the  silo. 

Relative  losses  incident  to  curing  corn  fodder  by  drying  and  ly  en- 
silage —  Various  Stations. 


Corn 

silage. 

Corn  f 

odder. 

Station. 

Dry 
matter. 

Protein. 

Dry 

matter. 

Protein. 

Vermont,  Rept.  1889  
Vermont,  Rept.  1891  

Percent 

14.7 
20  0 

Percent 
13.6 

Percent 

13.6* 
19.0 

Percent 
17  6 

Vermont,  Rept.  1892  

18.0 

11  0 

18  0 

9.0 

Vermont  Rept  1894 

20  0 

12  0 

20  0 

12  0 

New  Jersey,  Bui.  19  
Pennsylvania,  Rept.  1889          .  .. 

18.0 
10  8 

26  5 

17.3 
21  0 

13  8 

Wisconsin  Rept.  1891,  av.  four  years.. 

15.6 

16.8 

23.8 

24.3 

*  Large  shocks;  15.1  per  cent,  for  small  shocks. 

The  figures  show  the  range  of  losses  which  may  occur  by  either 
process  of  preserving  fodders.  It  is  evident  that  the  systems,  as 
commonly  practiced,  possess  about  equal  merit  in  the  proportion 
of  nutriment  they  conserve. 

386.  Necessary  losses  in  silage. —  In  considering  the  losses  of 
silage  the  waste  found  in  the  top  layer,  which  acts  as  a  cover  for 
the  material  below,  has  always  been  taken  into  account.  This 
loss  is  a  constant  one,  being  no  more  for  a  deep  silo  than  for  a 
shallow  one.  By  using  fresh  grass,  wet  chaff  or  other  cheap  ma- 
terial for  covering,  or  by  beginning  to  feed  from  the  silo  imme- 
diately after  filling,  the  loss  commonly  occurring  in  the  top  layer 
may  be  reduced  or  entirely  avoided. 


The  Ensilage  of  Fodders. 


247 


King,  studying  the  subject  at  the  Wisconsin  Station1  with  a 
round  silo,  concludes  after  four  years'  experience  that,  omitting 
the  losses  found  in  the  top  layer  and  those  which  may  occur  at  the 
bottom  of  the  silo,  the  other  losses  need  not  exceed  ten  per  cent, 
of  dry  matter  for  corn  and  eighteen  per  cent,  for  red  clover. 

387.  Character  of  silo  losses. —  At  the  Maine  Station,2  Jordan 
investigated  this  subject  during  three  years,  with  the  findings 
presented  in  the  following  table: 

Composition  of  water-free  substances  in  green  corn  and  silage  made 
therefrom  —  Maine  Station. 


18* 

$1. 

l« 

J2. 

1883. 

Constituent. 

Green 
corn. 

Silage. 

Green 
corn. 

Silage. 

Green 
corn. 

Silage* 

Silage. 

Ash,  pure  

Per  ct. 
5.0 

Per  ct. 
5  5 

Per  ct. 
3  7 

Per  ct. 
4.0 

Per  ct. 
3.3 

Per  ct. 
3.7 

Perct. 
3.7 

Nitrogen  X  6.25  

6.5 

7.2 

8  0 

8.9 

7.3 

7.5 

7.3 

Crude  fiber 

24  2 

27.4 

35.2 

35  7 

29  8 

34  0 

33  8 

Other  carbohydrates  

62.3 

57.0 

51.0 

49.2 

57.7 

52  1 

52  6 

Ether  extract  

1.9 

2.9 

2.0 

2.3 

2.4 

2.8t 

2.8t 

Total  nitrogen  

1.1 

1.2 

1.3 

1.4 

1.2 

1.2 

1.2 

Albuminoid  nitrogen,  di- 
rect determination  

0.9 

0.6 

1.0 

0.6 

0.8 

0.5 

0.6 

Amide  nitrogen,    by  dif- 
ference   

0.1 

0.6 

0.3 

0.8 

0.4 

0  7 

0.6 

Percentage  of  total  non- 
albuminoid  nitrogen,  by 
difference  

13.3 

50.4 

13.3 

33.1 

29  9 

58  5 

52.6 

*  Dried  quickly.  f  Assumed. 

"We  learn  from  the  above  table  that  in  the  process  of  ensilage 
the  crude  fiber  of  the  corn  plant  is  not  reduced  or  changed  by  the 
heat  and  moisture  of  the  silo.  The  other  carbohydrates,  consti- 
tuting as  they  do  the  more  valuable  non -nitrogenous  portion  of 
the  forage,  are  diminished  percentagely  and  in  total  quantity. 
The  ether  extract  is  increased  through  the  formation  of  lactic 
acid.  We  further  observe  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  al- 
buminoid nitrogen  in  the  green  forage  is  changed  to  amide  nitro- 
gen. This  reduction  of  organic  nitrogen  from  albuminoid  to 
simpler  forms  has  been  held  to  indicate  a  large  loss  in  the  feeding 

i  Bui.  59. 

2Soc.  Pro.  Agr.  Sci.,  1884. 


248 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


value  of  the  protein  constituents  of  silage,  a  fact  not  borne  out  by 
direct  feeding  tests.   (655) 

388.  Digestibility  of  silage  and  fodder  corn. —  The  studies  of  the 
chemists  on  this  subject  have  been  arranged  by  Woll1  in  the  fol- 
lowing table: 

Average  digestion  coefficients  for  corn  silage  and  green  and  cured  fod- 
der corn  —  Arranged  by  Woll. 


Forage. 

Dry 
matter. 

Ash. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

N.-free 
extract. 

Ether 
extract. 

Green  fodder  corn    

68 

35 

61 

61 

74 

74 

66 

34 

65 

66 

69 

72 

66 

31 

53 

67 

70 

81 

So  far  as  this  table  shows,  there  is  no  appreciable  difference  in 
the  digestibility  of  corn  silage  and  dry  fodder  corn,  both  being 
somewhat  less  digestible  than  green  fodder. 

389.  Yield  of  milk  per  hundred  pounds  of  dry  matter. —  At 
several  Stations  feeding  trials  were  so  conducted  that  a  compari- 
son can  be  made  of  the  yield  of  milk  from  the  same  quantity  of 
dry  matter  fed  in  silage  and  dry  corn  fodder  respectively. 

Milk  produced  from  dry  matter  in  silage  and  dry  fodder  corn —  Vari- 
ous Stations. 


No. 

Milk  pi 
per  100 

oduced 
pounds. 

Station  and  reference. 

trials. 

Basis  of  calculation. 

Silage. 

Fodder 
corn. 

\Visconsin  7th  Report 

2 

Dry  matter  in: 
AVhole  ration. 

Lbs. 
76  9 

Lbs. 
86  0 

AVisconsin  8th  Report  

1 

\Vhole  ration. 

70  4 

78  7 

Vermont  1892  Report  

1 

AVhole  ration  

82  0 

76  5 

Vermont,  1892  Report  

1 

Whole  ration  

73  5 

73  4 

Pennsylvania  1890  Report. 

2 

AVhole  ration 

111  9 

106  3 

AVisconsin  6th  Report   

8 

Exptl.  forage  only 

155  0 

146  1 

AVisconsin.  5th  Report  

3 

Exptl.  forage  only 

166  2 

149  6 

Vermont  1891  Report 

1 

Exptl  forage  only 

240  0 

218  0 

Reviewing  the  table  we  observe  that  excepting  the  first  and 
second  trials  there  were  larger  returns  of  milk,  when  feeding  a 
1 A  Book  on  Silage. 


The  Ensilage  of  Fodders.  249 

j 

given  quantity  of  dry  matter  in  the  form  of  silage,  than  from  the 
same  amount  of  dry  matter  in  the  dry  fodder.  The  average  for 
the  eight  trials  is  about  four  per  cent,  more  milk  from  the  dry 
matter  in  the  form  of  silage. 

390.  Feeding  tests  with  silage  and  fodder  corn. —  Feeding  tests 
with  silage  and  fodder  corn  made  at  the  Vermont1  and  Wiscon- 
sin2 Stations  were  conducted  as  follows:  In  each  case  two  rows 
of  corn  across  the  field  were  cut  and  placed  in  shocks,  while  the 
next  two  rows  were  run  through  the  feed- cutter  and  placed  in  the 
silo.  By  thus  alternating  until  the  silo  was  filled,  equal -quanti- 
ties of  material  of  the  same  composition  were  obtained.  The 
dried  fodder  so  produced  was  run  through  the  feed- cutter  and  fed 
in  opposition  to  the  silage  to  dairy  cows,  with  equal  quantities  of 
hay  and  grain. 

The  results  at  the  Yermont  Station  were  as  follows: 

14,262  pounds  green  fodder  corn  when  dried,  fed  with  a  uniform  daily 
allowance  of  hay  and  grain,  produced  7,688  pounds  of  milk. 

14,262  pounds  of  green  fodder  corn  converted  into  silage,  and  fed  with 
the  same  daily  ration  of  hay  and  grain,  produced  8,525  pounds  of  milk. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station  the  results  were: 

From  29,800  pounds  of  green  fodder  were  obtained  24,440  pounds  of 
silage,  which,  fed  with  1,648  pounds  of  hay  and  2,884  pounds  of  grain, 
produced  7,496  pounds  of  milk,  containing  340.4  pounds  of  fat. 

From  29,800  pounds  of  green  fodder  were  obtained  7,330  pounds  of  field- 
cured  fodder  corn,  which,  fed  with  1,567  pounds  of  hay  and  2,743  pounds 
of  grain,  produced  7,119  pounds  of  milk,  containing  318.2  pounds  of  fat. 

At  the  Vermont  Station  the  silage  ration  produced  837  pounds 
or  11  per  cent,  more  milk  than  was  obtained  from  the  dry  fodder 
ration. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station  the  silage  ration  yielded  377  pounds 
more  milk  and  22  pounds  more  fat  —  a  difference  in  favor  of 
silage  of  5  per  cent,  in  milk  and  6  per  cent,  in  fat. 

391.  Relative  merits  of  silage  and  dry  fodder  corn. —  We  have 
seen  that  the  losses  of  nutrients  in  the  two  methods  of  curing  are 
about  equal.  We  have  further  learned  that  the  digestibility  of 

1  Kept,  1891. 

2  Kept.  1891. 


250  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

corn  silage  and  of  dry  fodder  is  practically  the  same.  Finally, 
actual  feeding  trials  with  dairy  cows  have  shown  that  silage  usu- 
ally gives  better  results  than  a  corresponding  amount  of  dry  fodder. 
The  difference  in  favor  of  silage  is  probably  due  in  part  to  the 
fact  that  cattle  usually  reject  the  dry  butts  of  the  corn  stalk, 
even  when  cut  fine,  while  in  silage  this  part  is  readily  eaten. 
Thus,  with  a  given  amount  of  forage  of  either  kind,  somewhat 
more  of  that  in  the  form  of  silage  is  consumed.  Again,  silage  is 
more  acceptable  to  stock  than  dry  fodder,  and  a  larger  amount 
of  dry  matter  is  consumed  in  the  same  time,  which  conduces  to 
greater  gains  in  flesh  or  larger  yields  of  milk.  Because  the  ani- 
mal willingly  eats  more  food  in  the  shape  of  silage,  there  is  more 
nutriment  left  to  form  milk  or  flesh  after  the  wants  of  the  body 
are  met. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  largest  users  of  silage  declare  the 
most  strongly  in  favor  of  this  forage.  (654-5) 

392.  Effects  of  silage  on  the  carcass. —  At  the  Utah  Station, l 
Sanborn  found  that  the  flesh  of  steers  fed  silage  contained  six  per 
cent,  and  that  of  sheep  two  per  cent,  more  water  than  the  flesh 
of  other  animals  of  the  same  kind  receiving  dry  forage.     Like 
roots,  silage  makes  a  watery  carcass,  which  is  soft  to  the  touch. 
Some  have  considered  this  a  disadvantage.     Is  it  not  rather  a 
desirable  condition,  within  reasonable  limits,  for  all  farm  stock, 
including  fattening  animals  during  the  earlier  stages  of  that  pro- 
cess? 

Feeding  dry  forage  only  during  the  long  winters  tends  to  pro- 
duce a  dry,  firm  flesh  —  a  condition  certainly  not  conducive  to 
the  highest  degree  of  health  if  summer  pastures  afford  the  ideal 
feed.  While  silage  is  highly  useful  in  the  preliminary  stages 
of  steer  feeding,  and  its  continued  use  in  moderate  quantity 
throughout  the  fattening  period  is  desirable,  the  proportion  of 
this  succulent  food  to  dry  forage  should  be  diminished  as  fatten- 
ing advances,  in  order  that  the  flesh  may  become  more  solid. 

393.  YieSd  of  silage  corn  and  roots.. —  Corn  silage  and  roots  both 
claim  the  feeder's  interest  because  of  their  palatability  and  succu- 
lence.   Since  they  are  equally  relished  by  stock,  the  choice  between 

*  Bui.  8. 


The  Ensilage  of  Fodders. 


251 


them  must  finally  turn  upon  the  amount  of  nutriment  produced 
from  a  given  area  of  land  and  the  cost  of  production.  Woll l 
presents  the  following  table,  showing  the  green  substance  and  the 
flry  matter  yielded  by  both  crops  at  four  Stations: 

Yield  and  dry  matter  per  acre  of  roots  and  green  fodder  corn  —  Four 

Stations. 


Crops  compared. 

Maine  Station. 

Pennsylvania 
Station. 

Ohio  Station. 

Ontario 
College. 

Green 
sub- 
stance. 

Dry 

matter 

Green 
sub- 
stance. 

Dry 
matter 

Green 
sub- 
stance. 

Dry 

matter 

Green 
sub- 
stance. 

Dry 
matter 

Ruta-ba^as  

Lbs. 

31,695 
15,375 
28,500 
17,645 
39,645 

Lbs. 

3,415 
1,613 
2,559 
2,590 
5,580 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

42,780 
55,320 
46,120 
32,663 
41,172 

Lbs. 

4,877 
5,034 
4,382 
4,737 
8,135 

16,177 

2,382 

31,500 

3,000 

Turnips 

Suo'ar  beets. 

11,436 
18,591 

2,010 
5,522 

Fodder  corn  

6,000 

It  is  seen  that  fodder  corn  yields  about  twice  the  dry  matter 
that  can  be  secured  from  a  crop  of  roots  grown  on  the  same  land. 

394.  Dry  matter  in  silage  and  roots. —  The  value  of  the  dry 
matter  of  roots  and  silage  for  milk  production  has  been  studied 
at  the  Ohio, 2  Pennsylvania  3  and  Vermont4  Stations  with  the  fol- 
lowing results: 

MUk  produced  by  feeding  one  hundred  pounds  of  dry  matter  in  corn 
silage  and  beets  —  Three  Stations. 


Beets. 

Corn 
silage. 

Ohio  Station: 
1889  

Lbs. 
59 

Lbs. 
62 

1890  

59 

60 

1891  

62 

66 

1892  

69 

76 

Pennsylvania  Station  .'  

87 

82 

Vermont  Station  

113 

119 

It  will  be  seen  that  although  practically  all  of  the  dry  matter 
of  beets  is  digestible,  while  a  considerable  portion  of  that  in  corn 
silage  is  not,  dairy  cows,  when  fed  rations  consisting  largely  of 

1 A  Book  011  Silage. 

2  Bept.  1893.  3  Kept.  1890.  «  Kept.  1895. 


252  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

beets  or  silage,  yield  somewhat  better  returns  for  the  dry  matter  in 
the  silage.  The  difference  in  favor  of  the  dry  matter  of  silage 
in  these  six  trials  is  three  per  cent. 

395.  Relative  cost  of  beets  and  silage. —  Armsby,  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Station, l  estimates  the  cost  of  one  acre  of  corn  placed 
in  the  silo  at  $21.12,  while  to  grow  and  house  an  acre  of  beets 
costs  $56. 70. 

At  the  Ohio  Station, 2  Thorne  reports  that  an  acre  of  beets, 
harvesting  15f  tons  and  containing  3,000  pounds  of  dry  matter, 
cost  as  much  as  an  acre  of  corn  yielding  57  bushels  of  grain  and 
containing  6,000  pounds  of  dry  matter.  The  great  disadvantage 
of  roots  in  competition  with  corn  silage  is  here  made  apparent. 
(550,  765) 

396.  Removing  the  ears  from  silage  corn  previous  to  ensilage. — 
About  the  year  1890  the  agricultural  press  contained  favorable 
notices  of  a  system  of  silage  making,  which  in  brief  is  as  fol- 
lows:   The  ripening  ears  of  corn  are  removed  from  the  stalks 
and  cured  on  the  barn  floor  or  elsewhere  under  cover.     The  corn 
stalks  freed  from  the  ears  are  then  run  through  the  feed- cutter 
and  preserved  as  silage.     At  feeding  time  a  part  of  the  dry  ear 
corn  reduced  to  meal  is  fed  to  cattle  with  the  silage.     It  was 
claimed  that  this  was  an  economical  practice.     Woll  summarizes 
the  results  at  the  Wisconsin  Station, 3  where  silage  from  equal 
areas  of  land  was  used,  thus: 

33,750  pounds  of  silage,  with  ears,  fed  in  addition  to  hay  and  grain  (the 
feed  containing  17,127.5  pounds  of  dry  matter  in  all),  produced  11,835 
pounds  of  milk. 

27,571  pounds  of  silage  with  ears  picked  off,  plus  4,341  pounds  of  dry 
ear  corn,  in  addition  to  hay  and  grain  as  before  (the  feed  containing 
16,491.7  pounds  of  dry  matter  in  all),  produced  11,423  pounds  of  milk. 

Hills,  of  the  Vermont  Station, 4  reports  that  an  acre  of  green 
corn  fodder,  including  ears,  'reduced  to  silage,  was  equal  in  feed- 
ing value  to  1.26  acres  of  silage  from  stalks  stripped  of  their 
ears,  fed  with  the  meal  made  by  grinding  the  dry  ear  corn  which 

1  Bui.  26. 

2  Kept.  1893. 

8  Repts.  1891,  1892. 
*  Kept.  1892. 


The  Ensilage  of  Fodders. 


253 


was  produced  by  the  crop.  These  trials  show  that  the  practice 
of  separating  and  drying  the  ear  corn  in  silage  making  is  not 
warranted  by  the  results,  and  that  it  is  better  to  run  the  ear  corn 
into  the  silo  with  the  fodder. 

397.  Southern  versus  Northern  seed  corn  for  silage. —  Digestion 
trials  conducted  during  five  years  at  the  Maine  Station  l  by 
Jordan  showed  that  sixty-five  per  cent,  of  the  dry  matter  in  the 
Southern  corn  silage  was  digestible  as  against  seventy-three  per 
cent,  in  the  silage  from  corn  of  home-grown  varieties. 

Digestion  trials  were  also  conducted  at  the  Pennsylvania  Sta- 
tion 2  during  three  years  by  Armsby.  In  the  following  table  are 
given  the  findings  of  the  Maine  and  Pennsylvania  Stations  from 
direct  trials,  and  similar  data  from  three  other  Stations,  the  Maine 
coefficients  of  digestibility  being  used  in  calculating  the  data 
given  in  the  last  column  of  the  table: 

Green  weight,  dry  matter  and  digestible  substance  per  acre  in  corn 
forage  from  southern-  and  northern- grown  seed  —  Five  Stations. 


Green 
weight. 

Dry 

matter. 

Digestible 
substance. 

Maine  —  7  trials,  5  years. 
Southern  corn  

Lbs. 
34  761 

Lbs. 
5  036 

Lbs. 
3  251 

Field  corn  

22,269 

4  224 

3  076 

Pennsylvania  —  3  years. 
Southern  corn  

32  321 

7  993 

5  042 

Dent  corn  

18  606 

6  177 

4  149 

Cornell* 
AVhite  Southern  corn  

34  060 

7  320 

4  758 

Pride  of  the  North  corn  

16  980 

4  102 

2  953 

Wisconsin.-f 
B.  &  \V.  silage  corn.        

47  040 

8  329 

5  414 

Dent  corn  

24,890 

7  263 

5*229 

Minnesota.^. 
Southern  corn                        

43,000 

7  985 

3  887 

Dent  corn  

19,500 

4  518 

2  911 

*  Bui.  16.  f  Rep t.  1888.  J  Bui.  40. 

The  table  shows  larger  yields  of  green  forage  in  every  instance 


1  Rept.  1893. 

2  Rept.  1892. 


254  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

from  Southern  corn,  which  likewise  leads  in  dry  matter  and  total 
digestible  substance,  although  percentagely  lower  in  digestibility, 
as  shown  by  Jordan. 

398.  When  to  use  Southern  corn  for  silage. —  From  the  table  it 
appears  that  we  are  assured  of  larger  returns  of  total  dry  and 
digestible  matter  at  the  North  by  the  use  of  large  Southern  varie- 
ties of  corn.     Southern  corn  should  not  be  grown  for  either  silo 
or  forage  purposes,  however,  unless  the  climatic  conditions  per- 
mit the  ears  to  develop  grains  of  corn  which  reach  the  glazing  stage 
at  time  of  harvest.     This  variety  of  corn  will  prove  a  favorite  for 
both  silage  and  dry  forage  where  there  is  an  urgent  demand  for 
the  largest  possible  amount  of  coarse,  palatable  forage  from  a 
given  acreage.     By  the  use  of  Southern  varieties  of  seed  corn  at 
the  North  the  stockman  can  provide  an  enormous  quantity  of 
roughage  from  a  given  area. 

On  the  other  hand  the  stockman  who  has  a  fair  supply  of  hay, 
straw  or  stover  at  command  will  fill  his  silo  with  a  richer  feed- 
ing stuff  than  that  produced  by  Southern  corn,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose will  use  varieties  of  flint  or  dent  corn  which  will  fully 
mature  in  his  locality,  planting  the  crop  in  such  manner  as  to 
secure  a  relatively  large  proportion  of  grain  to  roughage.  Silage 
made  from  the  smaller  varieties  of  corn,  carrying  a  considerable 
proportion  of  ears,  will  prove  a  rich  feeding  stuff  which  will 
materially  reduce  the  necessity  for  additional  grain.  Corn  silage, 
which  is  rich  in  carbohydrates,  should  be  supplemented  by  clover 
hay,  if  possible,  not  only  because  some  dry  food  is  required,  but 
because  this  hay  is  rich  in  protein. 

399.  Space  occupied  by  silage  and  dry  fodder. —  A  cubic  foot  of 
hay  in  the  mow  weighs  about  five  pounds.     According  to  King  1 
a  cubic  foot  of  corn  silage  in  a  thirty-foot  silo  weighs  30.6  pounds. 
Estimating  that  hay  contains  13.2  per  cent,  and  silage  79.1  per 
cent,  of  water,  we  have  the  following: 

One  cubic  foot  of  hay  in  the  mow  contains  4.34  Ibs.  dry  matter. 

One  cubic  foot  of  silage  in  a  thirty-foot  silo  contains  8.28  Ibs.  dry  matter. 

We  learn  that  a  given  volume  of  silage  contains  nearly  twice  as 
much  dry  matter  as  the  same  volume  of  hay  stored  in  the  mow. 
1  Bui.  59,  Wis.  Sta. 


The  Ensilage  of  Fodders.  255 

400.  Cpst  of  putting  green  corn  fodder  in  the  silo. —  The  cost  for 
labor  involved  in  placing  a  corn  crop  in  the  silo  is  reported  by 
several  Stations  to  be  as  follows: 

New  Hampshire  (Bui.  1) $1.08  per  ton. 

Massachusetts  (Kept.  1884) 1.50  per  ton. 

Kansas  (Bui.  48) 71  per  ton. 

Maryland  (Kept.  1889) 1.43  per  ton. 

King,  of  the  Wisconsin  Station, l  studied  the  operation  of  silo 
filling  on  four  Wisconsin  dairy  farms,  and  found  the  average 
amount  of  green  fodder  placed  in  the  silo  per  man,  daily,  to  be  as 
follows: 

Farm  No.  1 2.96  tons  per  10  hours  labor. 

Farm  No.  2 2.60  tons  per  10  hours  labor. 

Farm  No.  3 2.45  tons  per  10  hours  labor. 

Farm  No.  4 2.43  tons  per  10  hours  labor. 

Station  Farm,  1893 2.37  tons  per  10  hours  labor. 

Average 2.56  tons  per  10  hours  labor. 

This  shows  that  for  each  man  working  ten  hours,  about  two 
and  one-half  tons  of  green  corn  fodder  were  placed  in  the  silo. 
Estimating  labor  at  fifteen  cents  per  hour  we  have  58.6  cents  as 
the  cost  of  putting  one  ton  of  green  corn  in  the  silo.  (655) 

401.  Crops  for  the  silo. —  Indian  corn  is  pre-eminently  suited 
for  silage,  the  solid,  succulent  stems,  when  cut  into  short  lengths 
or  shredded,  packing  closely,  thereby  excluding  the  air  and  form- 
ing a  solid   mass  which  keeps  well.     By  planting  the  kernels 
rather  thickly  in  the  row  the  corn  plants  will  develop  the  proper 
proportion  of  ear  to  stalk  to  form  a  silage  sufficiently  rich  in 
nutrients  while  still  furnishing  a  larger  quantity  of  roughage. 
Investigation  and  experience  teach  that  the  corn  crop  should 
be  well  matured  before  it  is  harvested  for  the  silo.     Silage  from 
immature  corn  is.  sour  and  of  low  feeding  value.     Many  of  the 
adverse  reports  on  silage  are  due  to  the  use  of  immature,  watery 
corn  plants.     See  Chapter  X. 

Eed  clover  stands  next  to  corn  for  silage  purposes.  There  is 
still  much  to  be  learned  concerning  the  proper  method  of  convert- 
ing clover  into  silage,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  wide  range  in  the 

1  Kept.  1893. 


256  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

quality  of  silage  commonly  produced  from  clover.  "While  some 
lots  of  clover  silage  are  all  that  can  be  desired,  in  most  instances 
this  silage  possesses  a  rank,  disagreeable  odor  and  is  unsatisfactory, 
not  being  relished  by  stock.  Judging  from  limited  experience, 
it  would  appear  that  the  best  quality  of  clover  silage  is  secured 
by  cutting  the  clover  at  the  usual  time  for  hay  making,  and  al- 
lowing the  plants  to  lose  a  part  of  their  moisture  by  wilting  be- 
fore they  are  placed  in  the  silo.  Green,  sappy  clover  contains 
too  much  moisture  for  the  best  silage.  The  hollow  stems  of  the 
rye  plant  and  their  fibrous  character,  even  when  quite  green,  seem 
to  prevent  its  conversion  into  first-class  silage,  though  it  is  used 
to  some  extent  for  this  purpose.  Attempts  have  been  made  to 
use  such  crops  as  cabbage,  rape  and  the  various  roots,  mangels, 
ruta-bagas,  etc.,  for  silage,  but  without  success. 

402.  The  Robertson  mixture. —  Eobertson,  of  the  Dominion  Sta- 
tion, l  Ottawa,  in  the  effort  to  secure  a  silage  containing  the  nu- 
trients of  a  balanced  ration,  concluded  that  the  following  mixture 
would  prove  satisfactory:    Ten  tons  of  green  fodder  corn,  three 
tons  of  English  horse  beans,  and  one  and  a  half  tons  of  sunflower 
heads.    To  secure  the  proper  proportion  of  these  crops  under  Cana- 
dian conditions,  for  each  acre  of  corn  there  should  be  planted 
half  an  acre  of  horse  beans  and  one-fourth  of  an  acre  of  sunflowers. 
This  mixture  was  found  satisfactory  in  feeding  trials  with  dairy 
cows  and  fattening  steers.     Since  the  horse  bean  does  not  thrive 
in  the  United  States  except  possibly  in  the  extreme  north,  some 
other  plant  must  be  substituted  in  mixtures  of  this  character. 
Mr.  G.  F.  Weston,  Superintendent  of  the  Biltmore  estate,  North 
Carolina,  reports  to  the  writer  that  he  has  found  that  one  load  of 
cowpea  vines  mixed  with  two  loads  of  green  corn  forage  produces 
an  excellent  silage  for  dairy  cows. 

403.  Silage  for  farm  stock. —  Silage  is  pre-eminently  a  food 
for  the  cow,  and  its  use  will   largely   remain  with  the   dairy 
farmer.     Because  of  its  succulence  and  palatability,  this  forage  is 
recommended  as  a  substitute  for  roots  with  fattening  cattle.     Sil- 
age proves  an  excellent  food  for  sheep,  being  especially  useful 
with  ewes  having  lambs  at  foot.     From  its  composition  silage  is 

*  Kept.  1893-95. 


The  Ensilage  of  Fodders.  257 

plainly  not  adapted  to  pig  feeding.  Some  silage  may  be  fed  to 
idle  horses,  but  for  work  horses  the  amount  must  necessarily  be 
limited  because  of  its  bulky,  soft  character. 

404.  On  the  rational  use  of  silage. —  The  silo  and  its  product 
must  now  be  regarded  as  a  fixed  factor  in  American  agriculture. 
Those  farms  which  carry  a  relatively  small  amount  of  stock  do  not 
require  the  silo.     On  such  farms  corn  is  rarely  planted  for  forage, 
and  the  straw  stacks  in  the  barn  yards,  slowly  rotting  to  manure, 
show  that  grain  is  grown  for  the  market  rather  than  for  home 
feeding. 

On  the  other  hand  many  farms  are  heavily  stocked  with  cattle, 
and  everything  raised  finds  waiting  mouths  with  demands  for  still 
more.  In  such  cases  the  feeder  will  find  his  best  ally  in  the 
Indian  corn  plant.  On  heavily- manured  lands  enormous  crops  of 
corn  forage  carrying  much  grain  may  be  grown,  and  this  utilized 
as  dry  fodder  serves  admirably,  while  the  silo  will  materially  ex- 
tend its  availability.  Corn  forage  carrying  many  small  ears, 
placed  in  the  pit  at  one  operation,  rests  in  the  most  compact 
form,  safely  awaiting  the  time  for  use.  Dried  fodder  corn  stored 
in  the  stack  or  mow  deteriorates  rapidly  with  the  coming  of 
spring,  the  stalks  becoming  brittle  and  losing  in  palatability. 
Silage  keeps  with  less  loss  than  does  fodder  during  this  time,  and 
what  is  not  needed  for  spring  feeding  will  help  out  the  short 
summer  pastures.  "Where  intensive  farming  is  practiced  the  silo 
will  prove  an  important  factor. 

405.  Effect  of  silage   upon  quality  of  milk. —  Milk -condensing 
factories  have  quite  generally  refused  to  accept  milk  from  dairies 
where  silage  is  fed.     Whether  there  is  a  just  foundation  for  this 
prejudice  remains  unsettled  at  the  present  time.     Not  all  con- 
densing factories,  however,  are  adverse  to  the  use  of  silage  by  their 
patrons.     The  Michigan  Condensed  Milk  Company,  with  factories 
at  Lansing  and  Howell,  Michigan,  accepts  milk  from  silage-fed 
cows.     In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1897,  about  one-fourth  of  the 
milk  received  at  the  Lansing  factory  was  from  this  source  and 
the  company  was  urging  its  patrons  to  erect  and  use  silos,  at  the 
same  time  insisting  that  well-matured  corn  only  be  used. 1 

1  From  information  furnished  by  G.  H.  True  of  the  Mich.  Agl.  College, 
17 


258  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Experts,  as  a  rule,  can  detect  a  silage  odor  or  flavor  in  milk  from 
silage-fed  cows.  The  fact  does  not  seem  of  much  importance, 
however,  when  we  know  that  milk  furnished  by  many  of  the  best 
dairymen,  who  are  heavy  feeders  of  silage,  is  readily  disposed  of 
to  critical  customers  in  cities,  who  pay  high  prices  for  what  they 
regard  an  excellent  article.  Butter  from  dairies  where  silage  is 
properly  fed  meets  with  no  objection  from  consumers. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  many  thousands  of  silos  are  now  in  use 
by  the  best  dairymen  of  America,  there  seems  no  longer  any 
foundation  for  objections  to  the  legitimate  use  of  silage  as  a  food 
for  the  dairy  cow. 

II.  Building  and  Filling  the  Silo. 

406.  Silo  construction. —  Without  question  the  round  wooden 
silo  devised  by  King1  is  the  one  which  will  be  most  commonly  con- 
structed. The  following  brief  description  is  adapted  from  King' s 
directions:  A  circular  foundation  of  stone  or  brick  is  constructed 
extending  about  three  feet  above  ground  level  to  secure  immunity 
of  the  timbers  from  moisture.  The  top  of  the  stone  wall  is  neces- 
sarily thicker  than  the  superstructure,  and  has  a  shoulder  bev- 
eled outward,  or  inward,  either  form  being  satisfactory.  Cir- 
cular silos  may  be  of  any  size  from  sixteen  feet  in  diameter  up- 
ward. For  the  superstructure,  set  2  x  4  inch  studding  of  not  less 
than  twenty-four  feet  in  length  on  the  foundation,  standing  them 
twelve  inches  apart.  To  the  outside  of  the  studding  nail  half- 
inch  sheathing;  then  cover  with  building  paper,  and  finally 
with  half- inch  siding.  In  warm  districts  the  building  paper  may 
be  omitted.  Each  board  nailed  horizontally  on  a  round  silo  is 
part  of  a  hoop,  and  all  combine  to  give  a  structure  of  great 
stability.  The  inside  of  the  silo  can  be  finished  in  several  ways. 
If  lumber  is  employed,  use  three  thicknesses  of  half- inch  boards 
not  over  six  inches  wide,  with  two  layers  of  building  paper  be- 
tween, thus  making  an  air-tight  inner  wall.  Ventilation,  which 
is  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  preservation  of  this  shell,  is 
provided  by  openings  at  bottom  and  top  through  the  outside 
siding,  the  air  passing  upward  in  the  four-inch  space  made  by 
the  studding.  Instead  of  wood  for  lining  brick  may  be  used, 

i  Bui.  59,  Wis.  Expt.  Sta. 


The  Ensilage  of  Fodders. 


259 


in  which  case  only  one  thickness  of  inside  boards  is  provided, 
against  which  the  bricks  rest.  If  large,  the  silo  may  be  lined 
with  combined  sheeting  and  lathing,  and  then  plastered.  Small- 
diameter  silos  should  be  first  boarded  inside  and  then  lathed  and 
plastered.  Doors,  which  must  be  air-tight  when  closed,  should 
be  provided  every  six  feet,  and  a  dormer  window  in  the  roof 
admits  the  end  of  the  silage  carrier. 

The  advantages  of  a  round  silo  are:  The  largest  cubic  capacity 
for  a  given  amount  of  building  material,  no  springing  of  walls 
through  internal  pressure,  no  corners  for  poor  silage,  and  finally, 
great  strength  for  a  minimum  amount  of  building  material.  The 
round  silo  may  be  connected  by  a  passage-way  with  the  feeding 
stable. 

407.  The  rectangular  silo. —  Silos  placed  in  the  barn  are  usually 
of  rectangular  form,  the  girts  extending  horizontally  with  an 
inside  lining  of  boards  running  vertically.     Corners  are  avoided 
by  boarding  across  them.     When  covered  on  the  outside,  venti- 
lation may  be  provided  by  tacking  cleats  with  holes  in  them  to 
the  girts  and  nailing  the  outside  boarding  to  them. 

408.  Weight  of  silage  at  different  depths. —  King1   calculates 
the  weight  of  silage  two  days  after  filling  the  silo  to  be  as  follows: 

Weight  of  silage  in  silos  of  different  depths  —  King. 


Depth  of  silage. 

Weight  at  different 
depths. 

Mean  weight  of  silage  for 
whole  depth  of  silo. 

Feet: 
1    

Lbs.  per  cu.  ft. 
18.7 

Lbs.  per  cu.  ft. 
18  7 

10  

33.1 

26.1 

20  

46.2 

33.3 

30  

56.4 

39.6 

36 

61.0 

42  8 

The  above  shows  that  ten  feet  down  in  the  silo  the  silage 
weighs  about  thirty-three  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  while  at  thirty- 
six  feet  in  depth  it  weighs  sixty-one  pounds  per  cubic  foot.  The 
mean  weight  for  silage  at  different  depths  is  shown  in  the  last 
column. 


Bui.  59,  Wis.  Expt.  Sta. 


260 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


409.  Capacity  of  silos. —  The  following  table  by  the  same  author 
gives  the  capacity  of  round  silos  at  different  depths  and  varying 
inside  diameters: 

Approximate  capacity  of  cylindrical  silos  for  well-matured  corn  silage, 

in  tons  —  King. 


Inside  Diameter  in  Feet. 

Depth, 

*" 

/ 

- 

x 

feet. 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

20.. 

58.8 

67.0 

75.6 

84.7 

94.4 

104.6 

115.3 

126.6 

138.3 

150.6 

163.4 

176.8 

21.. 

62  9 

71.6 

80.8 

90.6 

100.9 

111.8 

123.3 

135.3 

147.9 

161.0 

174  7 

189  0 

.22.. 

67.4 

76.5 

86.4 

96.8 

107.9 

119.6 

131.8 

144.7 

158.1 

172.2 

186.8 

202.1 

23.. 

71.7 

81.6 

92.1 

103.3 

115.1 

127.5 

140.6 

154.3 

168.7 

183.6 

199.3 

215.5 

,24.. 

76.1 

86.6 

97.8 

109.6 

122.1 

135.3 

149.2 

163.7 

179.0 

194.9 

211.5 

228.7 

25.. 

80.6 

89.6 

103.6 

116.1 

129.3 

143.3 

158.0 

173.4 

189.5 

206.4 

223.9 

242.2 

,26.. 

85.5 

97.2 

109.8 

123.0 

137.1 

151.9 

167.5 

183.8 

200.9 

218.8 

237.4 

256.7 

27.. 

90.2 

102.6 

115.8 

129.8 

144.7 

100.3 

176.7 

194.0 

212.0 

230.8 

250.5 

270.9 

,28.. 

95.0 

108.1 

122.0 

136.8 

152.4 

168.9 

186.2 

204.3 

223.3 

243.2 

263.9 

285.4 

29.. 

99.9 

113.7 

128.3 

143.9 

160.3 

177.6 

195.8 

214.9 

234.9 

255.8 

277.6 

300.2 

'80.. 

105.0 

119.4 

134.8 

151.1 

168.4 

186.6 

205.7 

225.8 

246.8 

268.7 

291.6 

315.3 

31.. 

109.8 

124.9 

141.1 

158.2 

176.2 

195.2 

215.3 

236.3 

258.2 

281.8 

305.1 

330.0 

32.. 

115.1 

135.9 

147.8 

165.7 

184.6 

204.6 

225.5 

247.5 

270.5 

294.6 

319.6 

345.7 

In  the  above  table  the  horizontal  lines  give  the  number  of  tons 
held  by  silos  of  the  diameter  marked  at  the  top  of  the  columns 
and  depth  marked  at  the  side. 

410.  The  proper  horizontal  feeding  area. —  Silage  cannot  be  cut 
down  in  sections  like  hay  in  the  mow  or  stack,  as  the  air  passing 
inward  and  upward  would  rapidly  deteriorate  the  whole  mass. 
The  proper  method  is  to  remove  a  certain  portion  of  the  silage 
from  the  top  of  the  pit  each  day,  and  experience  has  shown 
that  the  rate  of  removal  should  be  not  less  than  1.2  inches  per 
day.  Every  two  inches  in  depth  of  corn  silage  weighs  about  five 
pounds  per  square  foot  near  the  top  of  the  silo  and  ten  pounds 
near  the  bottom,  averaging  about  seven  and  a  half  pounds.  On 
this  basis  the  proper  surface  area  may  be  placed  at  five  square 
feet  per  cow,  daily.  As  a  guide  for  the  proper  surface  area  of 
the  silo,  King  gives  the  following  table,  showing  the  inside  diam- 
eter of  silos  which  will  allow  the  silage  to  be  fed  down  at  the 
rate  of  two  or  three  inches  a  day  when  each  cow  is  allowed  forty 


The  Ensilage  of  Fodders.  261 

pounds  of  silage  daily, — silos  to  be  of  sufficient  capacity  to  hold 
silage  for  180  days: 

Necessary  diameter  of  silos  for  feeding  different  numbers  of  cows 
while  removing  from  2  to  3.2  inches  of  silage  daily  —  King. 


No.  of 
cows. 

Silo  30  ft.  deep,  no  partition. 
Mean  depth  fed  daily,  2  inches. 

Silo  24  ft.  deep  with  partition. 
Mean  depth  fed  daily,  3.  2  inches. 

Contents. 

Round, 
diame- 
ter in  ft. 

Square, 
sides, 
in  ft. 

Contents. 

Round, 
diame- 
ter in  ft. 

Square, 
sides, 
in  ft. 

Tons. 

Cu.  ft. 

Tons. 

Cu.  ft. 

30. 
40. 
50. 
60. 
70. 
80. 
90. 
100. 

108 
144 
180 
216 
252 
288 
324 
360 

4,091 
6,545 
8,182 
9,818 
11,454 
13,091 
14,727 
16,364 

15 
16.75 
18.75 
20.5 
22 
22.5 
25 
26.5 

12x14 
14x16 
16x18 
18x18 
20x20 
20x22 
22x24 
24x24 

108 
144 
180 
216 
252 
288 
324 
360 

5,510 
7,347 
9,184 
11,020 
12,857 
14,691 
16,531 
18,367 

17 

20 
22 
24 
26 
28 
29.75 
31.25 

16x16 
18x18 
20x20 

22x22 
22x26 
24x26 
26x28 
28x28 

411.  Rate  of  filling. —  From  seven  to  fifteen  days  should  be  al- 
lowed for  filling  the  silo,  as  this  not  only  permits  more  feed  to  be 
stored,  but  also  insures  better  and  sweeter  silage  with  smaller 
loss  of  dry  matter  than  when  the  operation  is  crowded  into  a 
period  of  two  or  three  days.     Time  is  required  for  the  silage  to 
settle  and  to  expel  the  entangled  air  by  heat  and  by  setting  free 
carbonic  acid  gas. 

On  the  subject  of  filling  King  writes:1  "  Corn  and  clover  may 
be  put  into  the  silo  either  whole  or  cut,  as  seems  best  under  the 
circumstances.  In  either  case  good  silage  can  be  made  if  proper 
care  is  taken,  but  more  care  and  usually  more  time  will  be  re- 
quired to  fill  a  silo  with  either  whole  corn  or  clover  than  to  run 
it  through  the  cutter  first;  and  it  is  certain  that  more  time  will  be 
required  to  take  the  silage  out  of  the  silo  if  put  in  whole.  .  .  . 
To  insure  the  best  silage  and  the  least  loss  of  dry  matter  it  is  im- 
portant that  the  silage  should  have  a  depth  at  the  close  of  filling 
of  not  less  than  24  feet,  and  30  feet  is  better  than  24  feet." 

412.  Tilling  and  covering. —  During  filling  the  inpouring  material 
should  be  well  spread  and  tramped  near  the  walls,  and  should 
also  be  well  tramped  every  two  or  three  days  thereafter  for  a 

cit. 


262  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

period  of  ten  days.  The  contents  having  become  settled,  the 
surface  of  the  pit  may  be  covered  with  fresh  marsh  grass,  weeds, 
chaff,  cut  straw  or  other  cheap  or  waste  substance,  or  a  portion 
of  the  surface  silage  may  be  allowed  to  decay  and  form  the  cover- 
ing. The  application  of  fifteen  or  twenty  pounds  of  water  to  each 
square  foot  of  surface  will  cause  the  material  at  the  top  of  the  pit 
to  ferment  rapidly  and  soon  compact  itself  into  an  impervious 
layer.  Feeding  from  the  silo  may  commence  at  once  or  may  be 
delayed  indefinitely.  If  only  a  part  of  the  silage  is  used  during 
winter  the  remainder  may  be  covered  again  and  held  until  sum- 
mer, when  it  may  serve  a  useful  purpose  during  a  period  of  drought 
or  short  pastures. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 


MANURIAL  VALUE  OF  FEEDING    STUFFS. 

413.  Essential  constituents  of  fertilizers. —  Only  three  of  the 
constituents  which  plants  remove  from  the  soil  need  be  considered 
in  this  chapter,  viz.,  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  for 
all  the  others  are  usually  held  in  such  abundance  that  no  thought 
need  be  given  them.     While  it  is  possible  for  the  legumes  to 
gather  nitrogen  indirectly  from  the  air,  the  supply  from  this  source 
is  not  always  sufficient,  and  it  is  often  necessary  to  add  nitrogen 
compounds  to  the  soil  for  the  purpose  of  enriching  it.     Phosphoric 
acid  and  potash  are  the  two  mineral  compounds  which  are  not 
always  held  by  the  soil  in  sufficient  quantity  to  give  profitable 
crops  and  must  be  supplied  in  the  form  of  manures  or  fertilizers. 

Farm-yard  manures  may  benefit  the  soil  because  the  vegetable 
matter  they  contain  acts  as  a  mulch  and  forms  humus,  but  so  far 
as  feeding  the  plants  is  concerned  their  worth  rests  upon  the  nitro- 
gen, phosphoric  acid  and  potash  they  contain. 

414.  Fertilizing  constituents  of  feeding  stuffs. —  The  quantity  of 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  found  in  the  various  feed- 
ing stuffs  is  given  in  Table  III  of  the  Appendix.     The  examples 
presented  below  are  abstracted  from  that  table  for  the  purpose  of 
illustration: 

Table  showing  fertilizing  constituents  in  1,000  pounds  of  common 
feeding  stuffs  —  From  Table  III  of  the  Appendix. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Nitrogen. 

Phosphoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Wheat  straw  

Lbs. 
5.9 

Lbs. 
1.2 

Lbs. 
5.1 

Timothy  hay                                         

12.6 

5  3 

9  0 

Clover  hay  .     .  .                          

20.7 

3.8 

22.0 

Corn  

18  2 

7  0 

4  0 

Wheat  

23.6 

7.9 

5.0 

AVheat  bran                                    

26  7 

28  9 

16.1 

Oil  meal,  O.  P  

54  3 

16  6 

13.7 

264 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


From  this  table  we  learn  that  wheat  straw  contains  5.9  pounds 
of  nitrogen,  and  timothy  hay  more  than  twice  as  much,  or  12.6 
pounds.  Clover  hay  is  richer  than  timothy  hay  in  nitrogen,  and 
especially  in  potash,  though  poorer  in  phosphoric  acid.  We 
observe  a  larger  quantity  of  all  the  fertilizing  constituents,  espe- 
cially phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  in  wheat  bran  than  in  the  wheat 
grain,  from  which  bran  is  derived.  This  is  because  the  starchy 
part  of  the  wheat  grain  used  for  flour  holds  little  fertility,  while 
the  outside  portion  of  the  grain  which  goes  into  the  bran  contains 
most  of  the  nitrogen  and  ash. 

415.  Amount  of  excrement  voided  by  farm  animals. —  Information 
on  this  subject  from  American  experiments  is  quite  limited,  but 
the  following  will  prove  useful: 

Voidings  per  day  of  twenty-four  hours  "by  farm  animals  as  deter- 
mined at  several  Stations. 


Animal. 

Station. 

Solid 
excre- 
ment. 

Urine. 

Total. 

Horse  

Cornell,  Bui.  3  

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
54  5 

Horse  

Cornell,  Bui.  13  

58  2 

Average 

56  3 

Cow 

Cornell,  Bui.  27.            

64 

18 

Cow 

Geneva,  Kept.  1890   

60 

21 

Cow   

Geneva,  Kept.  1890  

42 

15 

Cow  

Minnesota,  Bui.  26  

41 

23 

Average. 

49 

19 

68 

Sheep  
Piff 

Massachusetts,  Rept.  1893  
Minnesota,  Bui.  26  

1.8 
4.3 

2.0 

2  9 

3.8 

7.2 

The  table  shows  that  the  voidings  of  the  horse  amount  to  over 
55  pounds,  the  cow  68,  the  sheep  nearly  4,  and  the  pig  over  7 
pounds  each  24  hours. 

416.  Manure  from  the  ox. —  At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, J  an  ox  was  confined  from  birth  to  maturity  in  a  large  box- 
stall  having  a  cement  floor.  The  stall  was  well  bedded,  and  the 
animal  given  exercise  by  leading,  when  required.  Account  was 

1  Rept.  1893. 


Manurial  Value  of  Feeding  Stuffs.  265 

j 

kept  of  all  water  and  food  supplied,  and  of  the  voidings,  with  the 
following  results: 

Manure  obtained  from  steer  confined  in  box-stall  thirty -six  months  — 

Ontario  Agricultural  College. 

Pounds.  Pounds. 

Weight  of  steer  at  end  of  thirty-six  months 1,588 

Water  drank 42,449 

Feed  consumed:  Pounds. 

Milk 3,862 

Roots 7,270 

Grain 5,857 

Coarse  forage 20,957 

Total 37,946 

Total  weight  of  feed  and  water 80,395 

Total  weight  of  excrement 46,560 

Total  manure,  including  bedding 59,280 

Excrement  per  pound  gain,  live  weight 30 

Manure,  including  bedding,  per  pound  gain,  live  weight 37 

417.  Heiden's  method  for  calculating  manure  produced. — Heiden1 
computed  the  amount  of  manure  produced  by  farm  animals  in  the 
following  manner.     He  found  that  47.3  per  cent,  of  the  dry  mat- 
ter supplied  in  the  food  of  the  horse  re-appears  in  the  solid  and 
liquid  voidings,  which  contain  77.5  per  cent,  water  and  22.5  per 
cent,  dry  matter.     From  these  data  the  following  proportion  is 

derived: 

22.5  : 100  ::  47.3  :  (210) 

By  this  we  understand  that  for  each  100  pounds  of  dry  matter 
fed  the  horse  there  are  210  pounds  of  voidings.  This  method  of 
calculation  gives  the  following  results  for  each  100  pounds  of  dry 

matter  fed: 

The  horse  voids  210  pounds  of  fresh  manure. 
The  cow  voids  380  pounds  of  fresh  manure. 
The  sheep  voids  180  pounds  of  fresh  manure. 

418.  Nitrogen  and  ash  retained  and  voided  by  farm  animals. —  In 

supplying  feeding  stuffs  to  farm  animals  some  of  the  nitrogen  and 
ash  they  contain  are  taken  up  for  nourishment  and  retained  in . 
the  body,  or,  after  use,  expelled  in  the  urine.     A  considerable 
portion  of  the  substances  under  discussion  is  not  dissolved  from 


Storer's  Agriculture,  Vol.  1,  p.  515. 


266 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


the  feeds  during  their  passage  through  the  alimentary  tract,  but 
passes  off  with  other  useless  matter  in  the  solid  voidings. 

The  nitrogen  and  ash  of  feeding  stuffs  retained  and  voided  by 
the  animal  are  given  in  the  table  below,  which  summarizes  the 
Eothamsted  experiments  as  reported  by  Warington:1 

Per  cent,  of  nitrogen  and  ash  voided  as  excrement  or  secured  as  ani- 
mal produce  with  various  farm  animals  — Rothamsted  Station. 


Nitrogen. 

Ash. 

Ob- 
tained 
as  car- 
cass or 
milk. 

Voided 
as  solid 
excre- 
ment. 

Voided 
as  liq- 
uid ex- 
cre- 
ment. 

In  total 
excre- 
ment. 

Obtained 
as  live 
weight 
or  milk. 

Voided 
in  excre- 
ment and 
perspired. 

Fattening  ox  
Fattening  sheep  . 
Fattening  pig.... 
Milch  cow 

3.9 
4.3 
14.7 
24.5 

22.6 
16.7 
22.0 
18.1 

73.5 
79.0 
63.3 
57.4 

96.1 
95.7 
85.3 
75.5 

2.3 
3.8 
4.0 
10.3 

97.7 
96.2 
96.0 
89.7 

The  above  data  may  be  considered  as  representative  of  average 
results.  From  them  we  learn  that  the  fattening  ox  retains  only 
3.9  per  cent,  of  the  nitrogen  supplied  in  its  food,  voiding  22.6  per 
cent,  in  the  solid  excrement  and  73.5  per  cent,  in  the  urine ;  in 
all,  96.1  per  cent,  of  the  nitrogen  supplied  this  animal  in  his 
food  re-appears  in  the  excrement  and  less  than  4  per  cent,  is 
stored  in  the  body.  This  large  return  of  nitrogen  seems  reason- 
able when  we  remember  that  during  the  fattening  process  the 
grown  ox  adds  little  to  his  body  besides  fat,  which  we  know  con- 
tains no  nitrogen. 

With  the  cow,  24.5  per  cent,  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  feed  is  used 
mainly  for  the  production  of  the  casein  and  albumen  of  the  milk, 
and  75.5  per  cent,  appears  in  the  excrement. 

Of  the  ash  from  2.3  to  10.3  per  cent,  is  retained  by  the  ani- 
mal or  goes  into  the  milk.  Thus  it  is  shown  that  from  75  to  95 
per  cent,  of  all  the  fertilizing  constituents  of  feeding  stuffs  re- 
'  appears  in  the  solid  and  liquid  excrement. 

419.  Composition  of  excrement. —  It  is  important  that  the  farmer 
understand  the  composition  of  the  excrement  of  farm  animals 

1  Chemistry  of  the  Farm,  pp.  124-25. 


Manurial  Value  of  Feeding  Stuffs. 


267 


in  order  to  intelligently  utilize  manures.  The  source  of  the 
fertility  in  manures  is  well  illustrated  by  the  following  table  from 
Hebert,  *  which  shows  the  location  of  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid  and  potash  in  the  excrement  of  the  horse  and  cow: 

Location  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  excrement  — 

Hebert. 


Nitrogen. 

Phosphoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Horse,  urine  

Per  cent. 
1  52 

Per  cent. 
Trace. 

Per  cent. 
0  92 

Horse,  solid  excrement  

0  55 

0  35 

0  10 

Cow,  urine. 

1  05 

Trace 

1  36 

Cow,  solid  excrement 

0  43 

0  12 

0  04 

We  learn  that  the  urine  of  the  horse  contains  1.52  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen  and  the  solid  excrement  .55  per  cent,  or  one- third  as 
much.  The  reverse  holds  true  for  the  phosphoric  acid,  for  only 
a  trace  of  this  appears  in  the  urine  and  nearly  all  in  the  solid 
excrement.  Of  the  potash,  .9  per  cent,  is  found  in  the  urine  and 
only  .1  per  cent,  in  the  solid  excrement. 

The  fertilizing  constituents  which  pass  off  with  the  solid  excre- 
ment are  largely  insoluble  and  to  this  extent  not  directly  avail- 
able to  plants  when  applied  in  manures.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
constituents  which  appear  in  the  urine  are  in  soluble  form  and 
directly  available  to  the  plant. 

420.  Commercial  fertilizers. — The  soil  in  parts  of  our  country  is 
now  so  depleted  that  farmers  and  planters  are  forced  to  make 
large  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  in  order  to  secure  remunerative 
crops.  The  commercial  fertilizers  sold  in  the  United  States  during 
the  year  1896  amounted  to  1,355,000  tons.2  Placing  a  value  on 
these  of  $20  per  ton,  a  reasonable  estimate,  we  have  a  total  of 
over  $27,000,000  paid  out  by  farmers  and  gardeners  living  mainly 
in  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  states  for  commercial  fertilizers  in  a 
single  year.  For  the  year  1895  the  farmers  of  Connecticut  8  ex- 
pended over  $700,000,  and  those  in  New  Jersey  4  $1,575,000,  for 
commercial  fertilizers. 

1  Expt.  Sta.  Record,  Vol.  5;  also  Fertility  of  the  Land,  Roberts,  p.  180. 

2  American  Fertilizer.  Dec.,  1896. 

3  Rept.  Conn.  Expt.  Sta.,  1895.  *  Rept.  N.  J.  Expt.  Sta.,  1896. 


268 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  market  value  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  based  on  their 
content  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  Because  of  the 
enormous  quantity  of  fertilizers  used,  each  of  their  three  valuable 
constituents  has  a  definite  market  value.  The  average  price 
of  these  ingredients  in  the  wholesale  markets  is  as  follows:  Nitro- 
gen, 15;  phosphoric  acid,  7,  and  potash  4.5  cents  per  pound. 
The  prices  of  these  articles  do  not  fluctuate  any  more  than  do 
those  of  other  standard  articles  of  commerce. 

421.  Valuation  of  fertilizer  constituents  in  feeding  stuffs. —  If  we 
follow  the  plan  adopted  by  some  Eastern  Stations  of  placing  the 
same  values  on  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  feeding- 
stuffs  that  these  constituents  bring  when  sold  in  commercial  fer- 
tilizers, we  are  in  a  position  to  compare  the  fertilizing  values  of 
the  several  feeding  stuff's.  Wheat  bran  and  corn  are  compared 
in  the  table  below: 

Value  of  the  fertilizing  constituents  in  1,000  pounds  of  wheat  bran 

and  corn. 


Constituents. 

Wheat  bran. 

Corn. 

Pounds. 

Price 
per  Ib. 

Total. 

Pounds. 

Price 
per  Ib. 

Total. 

Nitrogen  

26.7 
28.9 
16.1 

Cents. 

15 
7 
4.5 

Dollars. 

4.00 
2.02 

.72 

18 

7 
4 

Cents. 

15 

7 
4.5 

Dollars. 

2.70 
.49 
.18 

Phosphoric  acid  
Potash  

Total. 

6.74 

3.37 

From  the  above  we  learn  that  the  value  of  the  fertilizing 
constituents  in  1,000  pounds  of  bran  is  $6.74,  and  in  the  same 
weight  of  corn  one-half  as  much,  or  $3.37.  By  doubling  these 
figures  we  have  the  following: 

Value  of  fertilizing  constituents  in  one  ton  of  wheat  bran $13.48 

Value  of  fertilizing  constituents  in  one  ton  of  corn 6.74 

422.  What  the  figures  mean. —  The  farmer  will  ask  if  it  is 
here  taught  that  he  can  get  returns  of  $13.48  by  the  application 
of  one  ton  of  bran  to  his  land  as  a  fertilizer.  Such  a  deduction 
is  not  the  purpose  of  these  figures.  They  mean,  however,  that 


Manurial  Value  of  Feeding  Stuffs.  261> 

a  ton  of  bran  contains  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in 
such  amount  that  if  bought  in  the  form  of  commercial  fertilizers 
they  would  cost  at  least  the  sum  named.  They  mean  that  the 
farmer  who  harvests  a  ton  of  corn  and  seeks  to  return  to  the  field 
the  same  amount  of  fertility  that  was  abstracted  by  this  crop 
must  pay  not  less  than  $6.74  for  the  requisite  fertilizers,  if  bought 
in  the  market.  Virgin  soils  as  a  rule  contain  a  large  amount  of 
available  fertility,  and  pioneer  farmers,  drawing  upon  Nature's 
store,  give  little  consideration  to  the  subject.  The  Western 
farmer  cultivating  prairie  lands,  when  marketing  corn  considers 
that  in  so  doing  he  is  selling  labor  and  perhaps  rent  of  the  land; 
but  rarely  does  he  realize  that  he  is  also  selling  fertility,  to  re- 
place which  would  cost  as  much  and  often  more  than  the  crop 
brings.  The  Eastern  farmer  and  Southern  planter  are  now  culti- 
vating soils  which  have  been  so  depleted  of  available  plant  food 
that  the  subject  of  fertilizers  is  a  matter  of  the  deepest  concern 
to  them. 

When  one  who  cultivates  the  soil  must  choose  between  com- 
mercial fertilizers  and  barn-yard  manures,  it  is  reasonable  to 
estimate  that  the  latter  have  a  value  of  at  least  two-thirds  the 
former,  based  on  their  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  con- 
tents. Because  the  soils  of  the  West  are  still  rich  in  original 
fertility,  the  farmers  of  that  region  have  as  yet  little  need  of 
commercial  fertilizers,  and  barn-yard  manures  in  consequence 
have  a  lower  value  than  in  the  older-settled  regions.  For  con- 
venience of  comparison,  it  is  perhaps  best  to  use  the  same  valua- 
tions for  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  farm  manures 
that  these  same  compounds  command  when  sold  in  the  form  of 
commercial  fertilizers.  Such  values  should  always  be  used,  how- 
ever, under  the  limitations  above  presented.  With  sharp  com- 
petition confronting  every  one  who  cultivates  the  soil,  the 
careful  saving  of  farm  manures  and  their  judicious  application 
are  vital  factors  in  farming  operations,  and  as  essential  to  con- 
tinued success  as  plowing  the  land  or  planting  the  crop. 

423.  Manure  produced  by  farm  animals. —  Eoberts  1  gathers  the 
following  interesting  data  showing  the  daily  and  yearly  produc- 

1  The  Fertility  of  the  Land. 


270 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


tion  of  manure  by  farm  animals  maintained  under  average  condi- 
tions: 

Fertilizing  constituents  in  solids  and  liquids  voided  by  farm  animals, 
daily  and  yearly  —  Various  sources,  Roberts. 


Daily. 

Yearly. 

Value 
per 
year. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos. 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Nitro 
gen. 

Phos. 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

Horse  (Hebert)  

Lbs. 

.342 
.467 
.023 
.0326 

Lbs. 

.131 
.071 
.014 
.0246 

Lbs. 

.112 

.294 
.039 
.50* 

Lbs. 

125.2 
170.6 
8.4 
11.9 

Lbs. 

47.8 
26.0 
5.6 
10.6 

Lbs. 

43.2 
107.6 
14.3 
11.9 

$24.06 
32.25 
2.29 
3.06 

Cow  

Sheep  (Muntz  and  Girard) 
Pig  (JBoussingault)  

*  Estimated. 

424.  Value  of  farm  manure  per  ton. —  Roberts,  gathering  the 
data  at  Cornell  Station  and  elsewhere,  deduces  the  following  as 
the  average  value  per  ton  of  manures  from  various  farm  animals, 
nitrogen  being  rated  at  fifteen  cent^  phosphoric  acid  at  seven 
cents  and  potash  at  four  and  one-half  cents  per  pound: 

Value  per 
ton. 

Horse 

Cow 

Sheep 

Pig 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  value  of  farm  manures  de- 
pends primarily  upon  the  character  of  the  feed  given,  and,  in  the 
second  place,  upon  the  animal  to  which  the  feed  is  supplied. 
Manure  which  originates  from  the  use  of  concentrated  feeding 
stuffs  usually  has  a  high  value,  because  such  feeds  are  rich  in 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  Manure  resulting  from 
the  use  of  straw  and  coarse  forage  has  a  correspondingly  low 
value. l 


$2.49 
2.43 
4.25 
3.20 


1  The  student  desiring  additional  information  on  matters  treated  in  this 
chapter  should  consult:  The  Fertility  of  the  Land,  Roberts;  Agriculture 
in  Some  of  its  Relations  with  Chemistry,  Storer. 


PART  III. 
FEEDING  FARM  ANIMALS. 


' 


CHAPTEE  XVH. 

INVESTIGATIONS  CONCERNING  THE  HORSE. 

I.  Mare  and  Foal. 

425.  Period  of  gestation. — According  to  Youatt, l  the  average 
period  of  gestation  for  the  mare  is  eleven  months,  but  it  may  be 
diminished  five  weeks  or  extended  six  weeks.     Of  582  mares  re- 
ported by  M.  Tessier,  the  shortest  period  was  287  days,  the  longest 
419,  and  the  average  330  days. 2 

426.  Weight  and  growth  of  foals. —  Boussingault  3  found  that: 
"1.  Foals,   the  issue  of  mares  weighing  from  960  to  1,100 

pounds,  weigh  at  birth  about  112  pounds. 

"2.  During  suckling,  for  three  months  the  weight  increases  in 
the  relation  of  278 : 100,  and  the  increase  corresponds  very  nearly 
to  2.2  pounds  per  head  per  day. 

"3.  The  increase  in  weight  per  day  of  foals  from  the  end  of 
the  first  to  the  end  of  the  second  year  is  about  1.3  pounds,  and 
towards  the  third  year  the  increase  per  day  falls  to  something 
under  one  pound. 

"4.  After  three  full  years,  the  period  at  which  the  horse  has 
very  nearly  attained  his  growth  and  development,  any  increase 
becomes  less  and  less  perceptible. ' ' 

1  The  Horse,  p.  222. 

2  Farmers'  Cyclopedia,  Johnson,  p.  562. 
8  Rural  Economy,  Am.  ed.,  p.  464. 


272 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


427.  Weight  of  trotting  foals  at  birth.— At  Allen  farm,  Pitts 
field,  Mass.,  Meston1    recorded  the  weights  of  foals  at  birth,  as 
summarized  in  the  following  table: 

Weight  of  trotting -bred  foals  at  birth  and  other  data  relating  thereto  — 
Meston,  Allen  Farm. 


Averages. 

21  colts. 

23  fillies. 

15  of 
av.  or 

less  wt. 

6  above 
av.  wt. 

13  of 
av.  or 

less  wt. 

10 
above 
av.  wt 

Weight  of  foals  at  birth,  pounds  

98.5 

1,070 
1,065 
343 
.29 

129 

1,156 
1,095 
337 

.38 

102 

1,160 
1,066 
338 
.30 

123 

1,155 
1,071 
340 
.36 

Weight  of  their  dams  after  foaling, 
pounds 

W^eio'ht  of  their  sires  pounds 

Period  of  gestation  days       

Foetal  growth  per  day,  pounds  

428.  Increase  in  weight  of  foals. —  Mestori  2  recorded  the  in- 
crease in  weight  of  trotting-bred  foals  up  to  four  months,  with  the 
results  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Growth  of  suckling  trotting-bred  foals  up  to  four  months  —  Meston, 

Allen  Farm. 


Age  of  foals. 

No. 
of 

foals. 

Av. 

growth 
per 
day. 

Av.  growth  per 
day  of  foals  of  — 

No. 
of 
foals 
above 
av. 

Extremes  in 
growth  —  Ibs. 
per  day. 

Av. 

Above 

Max. 

Min. 

wt.  or 

av.  wt. 

wt. 

foal. 

foal. 

under. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

From  3  to  9  days. 

15 

3.70 

3.76 

3.62 

7 

6.00* 

1.60 

From  11  to  19  days. 

14 

3.34 

3.17 

3.53 

6 

4.71 

2.00 

From  22  to  28  days. 
From  31  to  39  days. 

12 
16 

2.80 
2.67 

2.78 
2.64 

2.H4 
2.79 

3 
5 

3.01 
3.08 

2.00 
.82 

From  40  to  49  days. 
From  52  to  59  days. 

15 
10 

2.67 
2.46 

2.55 

2.38 

2.81 
2.56 

7 
3 

3.23 
2.94 

.88 

.72 

From  60  to  69  days. 

11 

2.33 

2  22 

2.81 

2 

2.94 

.84 

From  70  to  79  days. 

13 

2.35 

2]30 

2.39 

7 

3.00 

.55 

From  80  to  88  days. 

8 

2.14 

2.13 

2.16 

2 

2.68 

.51 

Over  3  and  under  4 

months  

14 

2.10 

2.00 

2.28 

5 

2.53 

1.75 

*  Doubtful. 


Country  Gentleman,  1894,  pp.  636-7. 
Loc.  cit. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse.  273 

429.  Mare's  milk. —  The  following  table  presents  the  composi- 
tion of  mare's  milk,  with  cow's  milk  for  comparison,  according 
to  Konig: 1 

Percentage  composition  of  mare's  milk;  cow's  milk  being  given  for 
comparison  —  Konig. 


Water. 

Casein 
and  albu- 
men. 

Fat. 

Sugar. 

Ash. 

Average  47  analyses  mare's  milk. 
Average  793  analyses  cow's  milk. 

90.78 
87.17 

1.99 
3.55 

1.21 
3.69 

5.67 

4.88 

0.35 
.71 

It  is  shown  that  mare's  milk  contains  more  water  than  that  of 
the  cow,  the  casein,  albumen,  fat  and  ash  being  about  one-half 
that  found  in  cow's  milk,  while  the  sugar  is  nearly  one  per  cent, 
higher.  If  cow's  milk  is  used  for  feeding  foals,  it  should  be 
diluted  with  water  and  sugar  added. 

The  quantity  of  milk  yielded  by  mares  has  been  determined  in 
only  a  few  cases.  According  to  Goltz, 2  Tartarian  mares  produce 
from  450  to  500  pounds  of  milk  per  year  in  addition  to  that 
required  by  their  foals.  Such  mares  remain  in  milk  two  years. 

Vieth  3  reports  that  good  milking  mares  on  the  steppes  of  south- 
eastern Russia  yield  from  4  to  5  liters  (quarts)  of  milk  daily  when 
milked  five  times  a  day,  as  is  the  practice. 

II.    Wolff's  Studies  of  Feed  Consumed  and  Work  Performed,  by  the 

Horse. 

430.  Plan  of  investigation. — Wolff's  feeding  and  digestion  ex- 
periments with  the  horse  are  the  first  extensive  and  systematic 
efforts  in  this  line.  From  the  necessities  of  the  case  his  work 
was  done  with  single  animals.  He  first  studied  the  comparative 
digestibility  of  various  feeding  stuffs  with  the  horse,  and  later 
the  relation  of  feed  consumed  to  the  amount  of  work  performed. 
To  discuss  the  results  of  these  investigations  intelligently  it  is 
necessary  to  first  consider  the  method  adopted  for  measuring  the 
work  done  by  the  horse. 

1  Clieiu.  cl.  MeiiRch.  Nahr.  u.  Genus-mitteL 

2  Lamlw.  Ill,  p.  520. 

8  Ld\v.  Vers.  iSta.  31  (1885),  p.  354. 
18 


274  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

431.  Measuring  the  work  of  horses. —  In  measuring  work  done, 
the  engineer  uses  as  the  unit  a  foot-pound  (or  foot-ton),  the  term 
meaning  the  work  accomplished  in  lifting  one  pound  (or  one  ton) 
one  foot  high.    In  comparing  the  work  performed  by  horses  under 
varying  conditions  it  will  be  necessary  to  use  the  same  expres- 
sion.    A  nominal  horse-power  is  33;000  foot-pounds  per  minute. 
This  amount  of  work  was  ascertained  by  James  Watts,  the  in- 
ventor of  the  steam-engine,  in  a  series  of  experiments  with  com- 
pound pulleys.     As  the  capacity  of  animals  for  hard  work  is 
limited,  no  horse  can  work  constantly  more  than  eight  hours  a 
day.     The  work  done  by  a  horse  during  a  day  will  be  represented 
by  33, 000  x  8  x  60 = 15, 840, 000  foot-pounds.     This  is,  however,  an 
excessive  amount  of  work.     An  average  horse  will  do  only  about 
22,000  foot-pounds  per  minute.     This  work  continued  for  eight 
hours  gives  10,560,000  foot-pounds,  which  is  regarded  as  an  or- 
dinary day's  work  for  a  medium-sized  horse. 

In  the  Hohenheim  experiments l  the  following  figures  were 
obtained  for  eight  hours,  constituting  a  day's  work: 

Foot-pounds. 

A.  Hauling  on  level  track 7,999,800 

B.  Working  in  horse-sweep 12,996,000 

Perels2  gives  the  following  data  for  a  day's  work  of  eight  hours 
for  strong,  well-fed  horses: 

A.  Hauling  on  level  track  —  Foot-pounds. 

Heavy  work 17,051,000 

Ordinary  work '      12,996,000 

B.  Working  in  horse-sweep 10,136,900 

432.  Wolff's  dynamometer. —  To  measure  the  work  performed 
by  the  horse  in  a  given  time,  Wolff  constructed  a  horse  dynamom- 
eter, which  may  be  described  as  a  sweep,  the  axis  of  which 
consisted  of  two  parts  —  a  lower  stationary  cast-iron  base  and  an 
upper  loose  cast-iron  cover.     This  cover  was  connected  with  the 
sweep,  and  could  be  weighted  so  that  the  friction  between  the  re- 
volving cover  and  the  stationary  base  on  which  it  rested  could  be 
increased  at  will.     The  details  of  the  dynamometer,  and  the  ar- 

1  Wolff,  Ldw.  Jahrb.  VIII,  Suppl.  I,  p.  115. 

2  Deutsche  Ldw.  Presse,  1878,  Sept.  18;  Ldw.  Jahrb.  VIII,  Suppl.  I, 
p.  115. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse.  275 

rangements  for  controlling  the  work  performed,  are  very  com- 
plicated and  need  not  be  described  here. 1  In  the  first  series  of 
experiments  with  the  dynamometer  conducted  during  the  summer 
of  1877, 2  the  daily  work  performed  by  the  horse  during  the  five 
periods  of  the  experiment  amounted  to  3,429,500,  6,864,000, 
10, 288, 500,  6, 859, 000  and  3, 429, 500  foot-pounds.  The  ration  fed 
daily  throughout  the  experiment  was  13.2  pounds  of  oats,  11 
pounds  of  hay,  3.3  pounds  of  cut  winter- wheat  straw,  and  A 
ounces  of  salt.  The  weight  of  the  horse  was  1,177  pounds. 

433.  What  was  shown  by  the  digestion  trials. —  Digestion  trials 
conducted  during  each  period  showed  that  the  amount  of 
work  performed  by  the  horse  did  not  exert  any  influence  on 
the  digestibility  of  the  ration  fed.  The  digestion  coefficients 
found  during  the  five  periods  were:  for  dry  matter,  57,  56,  56,  54, 
53  per  cent. ;  for  protein,  71,  68,  70,  67,  68  per  cent. ;  for  nitrogen- 
free  extract,  68,  70,  68,  68,  64  percent.,  etc.  The  somewhat  lower 
digestibility  of  the  ration  during  the  last  period  is  accounted  for 
by  the  influence  of  the  storing  of  the  hay  —  the  digestibility  of 
hay  decreasing  with  age.  The  animal  was  never  overworked 
during  the  digestion  experiments,  the  hardest  labor  being  easily 
within  its  capacity.  The  heavier  work  done  during  the  third 
period  was  accompanied  by  a  greater  quantity  of  water  drank  and 
a  decrease  in  the  live  weight  of  the  animal.  The  results  obtained 
were  corroborated  in  a  second  trial,  when  a  highly  nitrogenous 
ration  containing  field  beans  was  fed  (16.5  pounds  of  hay  and 
8.8  pounds  of  beans),  and  also  in  still  later  experiments  by  the 
same  investigator. 3  The  results  obtained  by  Grandeau  and 
Leclerc  with  French  cab  horses  (442)  do  not  quite  correspond  with 
those  found  by  Wolff  with  German  farm  horses,  as  given  above, 
the  former  investigators  finding  a  small  depression  in  the  digesti- 
bility of  rations  fed  to  horses  doing  slow  work  compared  with 
that  obtained  when  resting  in  the  stall,  and  a  somewhat  larger 
depression  when  doing  harder  work.  The  differences  obtained 
were  within  three  per  cent,  of  those  found  by  Wolff,  and  are  not, 
therefore,  of  much  practical  importance. 

1  For  a  detailed  description  of  the  apparatus,  with  illustrations,  see 
w.  Vers.  Sta.  21,  1877,  p.  21. 

2  Ldw.  Jahrb.  VIII,  1879,  Suppl.  I,  p.  73.  *»  ibid.,  p.  78. 


276  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

434.  Nutrients  required  for  maintenance  and  work. —  Wolff's  ex- 
periments show  that  a  horse  of  average  size  will  do  medium  hard 
work  and  maintain  his  weight  on  a  ration  containing  about  12 
pounds  of  digestible  matter.  A  nutritive  ratio  of  1:  6.4  proved 
better  than  the  narrow  ration  of  1:3.  When,  as  in  the  later  ex- 
periments, less  than  9. 5  pounds  of  digestible  matter  were  supplied 
in  the  ration,  the  weight  of  the  horse  decreased,  the  decrease 
being,  under  otherwise  similar  conditions,  more  marked  when  a 
narrow  nutritive  ratio  (1:3.4)  was  fed  than  when  a  wider  ratio 
(1: 5.6)  was  given.  (445)  When  heavier  work  was  done,  a  sup- 
ply of  12  pounds  of  digestible  matter  did  not  suffice  to  maintain 
the  weight  of  the  horse.  This  could  only  be  attained  by  furnish- 
ing larger  quantities  of  nutrients,  viz.,  about  15.5  pounds. 

The  digestible  nutrients  necessary  to  maintain  a  horse  of  1,100 
pounds  in  a  medium  nutritive  condition,  when  not  performing 
any  mechanical  work,  was  found  in  repeated  experiments  with 
three  horses  to  be  9.25  pounds  on  an  average,  when  a  consider- 
able portion,  at  least  one-half^  of  the  ration  was  made  up  of 
coarse  feed,  viz.,  meafttov  hay.  This  proportion  of  coarse  feed 
will  hold  good  for  farm  horses  doing  an  average  day's  work  in 
rather  slow  time.  Horses  which  are  required  to  do  heavy  work 
and  in  rapid  time,  as,  for  instance,  mail-coach  or  army  horses, 
must  have  rations  which  are  easily  digested,  and  they  should 
consist  of  concentrated  feeding  stuffs  with  some  chaffed  straw  and 
little  or  no  hay. x 

435.  Value  of  the  various  components  of  fodders. —  According 
to  Wolff's  experiments,  the  digestible  albuminoids  of  the  feed 
have,  beyond  a  certain  minimum,  no  higher  value  for  production 
of  work  than  the  same  quantity  of  starch  or  of  the  starch  equiva- 
lent of  digestible  non-nitrogenous  substances.  (Chapter  V,  pt.  1. ) 
He  found  that  the  digestible  organic  substances  in  coarse  fodders, 
mainly  meadow  hay,  have  considerably  lower  value  for  the  pro- 
duction of  work  in  the  case  of  the  horse  than  have  the  same  sub- 
stances in  concentrated  feeding  stuffs, — for  instance,  oats.  The 
explanation  given,  the  correctness  of  which  is  disputed  by  good 
authorities,  is  that  the  crude  fiber,  largely  present  in  the  coarse 

*  Wolff,  Ldw.  Jahrb.,  1887,  Suppl.  III. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse. 


277 


fodders,  is  of  no  value  to  the  horse  either  for  maintenance  or  for 
production  of  wwk,  the  decomposition  of  cellulose  taking  place  in 
the  colon  through  the  action  of  ferments,  after  it  has  passed  the 
digestive  tract.  For  keeping  a  horse  of  1, 100  pounds  weight  at 
maintenance,  9.25  pounds  of  digestible  matter  are  required  in  the 
ration,  as  has  been  seen.  Of  crude  fiber-free  nutrients,  7.28  to 
7.50  pounds  were  found  necessary,  an  average  of  7.39  pounds. 
This  result  is  an  average  of  thirty-eight  experiments  with  three 
horses  and  agrees  closely  with  the  findings  of  Grandeau  and 
Leclerc,  who  obtained  7.47  pounds  as  the  average  of  six  closely 
agreeing  experiments  with  two  horses. 

436.  Work  possible  from  one  pound  of  feed. —  Beyond  the  7.39 
pounds  of  digestible  crude  fiber-free  nutrients  required  for  the 
maintenance  of  a  1, 100  pound  horse,  each  additional .  22  of  a  pound 
(100  grams)  of  the  crude  fiber-free  digestible  nutrients  will,  ac- 
cording to  Wolff,  increase  the  power  of  the  horse  for  muscular 
work  about  400,000  foot-pounds.  The  table  presented  below 
shows  the  total  available  work  possible  from  one  pound  of  com- 
mon feeding  stuff  on  this  basis: 

Work,  in  foot-pounds,   obtainable  from  one  pound  of  various  food 
substances  when  fed  to  the  horse —  Wolff. 


Feed. 

No.  of 
anal- 
yses. 

No.  of 
diges- 
tion ex- 
peri- 
ments. 

Total 
digesti- 
ble or- 
ganic 
matter. 

Digesti- 
ble 
crude 
fiber. 

Equivalent  to  work. 

Crude 
fiber  in- 
cluded. 

Crude 
fiber  ex- 
cluded. 

Meadow  hay  

16 
5 
4 

4 
8 
I 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

23 

7 
6 
7 
22 
1 
1 
5 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

Per  ct. 

40.6 
41.1 

46.2 
15.7 
60.2 
70.7 
80.0 
72.4 
66.7 
63.4 
63.4 
74.0 
21.5 
6.0 

Per  ct. 

11.4 
12.0 
11.0 
7.6 
2.0 
4.1 
1.5 
4.5 
0.5 
8.7 

Foot- 
pounds. 

736,500 
745,600 
838,100 
284,800 
1,092,000 
1,282,000 
,452,000 
,313,000 
,210,000 
,150,000 
,150,000 
,343,000 
390,000 
108,800 

Foot- 
pounds. 

529,800 
527,900 
638.600 
147.000 
1,055,000 
1,209,000 
1,424,000 
1,232,000 
1,201,000 
992,400 
1,150,000 
1,343,000 
390,000 
108,800 

Clover  hay 

Alfalfa  hay 

\Vheat  straw  .. 

Oats  

Barley  

Corn 

Field  beans 

Peas  

Lupines  

Linseed  cake  

Flaxseed  . 

Potatoes  

Carrots 

278 


Feeds  and,  Feeding. 


437.  Feed  requirements  for  work. —  The  manner  of  calculating 
the  amount  of  feed  necessary  for  the  performance  of  a  certain 
amount  of  work  may  be  illustrated  by  an  example  cited  by 
Wolff.1  If  a  riding  horse  in  average  condition,  weighing  937 
pounds,  and  1,157  pounds  with  rider  and  saddle,  travels  20.5 
miles  daily,  he  performs  the  amount  of  work  shown  in  the  table, 
which  calls  for  corresponding  quantities  of  nutrients. 

Nutrients  required  for  work  of  varying  degrees —  Wolff. 


Movement. 

Move- 
ment 
per 
second. 

Time 
required. 

Energy 
used  per 
second. 

Total 
energy. 

Digestible 
nutrients 
required. 

Walking  

Feet. 
4  1 

Seconds. 
26,400 

Foot- 
pounJs. 

301,998 

Foot- 
pounds. 

7,971,700 

Lbs. 

2  85 

Slow  trot  

8  2 

13,200 

1,207,978 

15,945,300 

5  70 

Canter  

20  5 

5,280 

7,356,502 

38,842,900 

13.9 

To  the  digestible  nutrients  given  in  the  last  column  must  be 
added  the  quantity  necessary  to  maintain  the  animal,  aside  from 
the  performance  of  any  work,  which  will  amount  to  6. 70  pounds 
per  1,000  pounds  weight  (7.39  for  1,100  pounds),  so  that  ordi- 
narily the  supply  of  digestible  matter  in  the  ration  would  be  re- 
spectively 9. 13, 11. 97  and  20. 17  pounds.  The  two  amounts  in  the 
last  column  are  larger  than  any  horse  will  be  able  to  assimilate, 
but  a  continuous  canter  or  even  slow  trot  for  the  whole  distance 
of  20  miles  represents  an  amount  of  work  rarely  performed  by 
the  horse.  If  we  assume  that  one-third  of  the  distance  was 
traveled  in  a  walk,  one-third  in  a  slow  trot,  and  one-third  in  a 
canter,  we  find  that  the  total  time  required  would  be  14,960 
seconds,  the  total  energy  used  11,874,000  foot-pounds,  and  the 
corresponding  feed  requirements  4.25  pounds  of  digestible 
matter.  This  added  to  the  feed  required  for  maintenance 
amounts  to  10.52  pounds  of  digestible  matter.  A  horse  walking 
20  miles  will  require  seven  hours  and  twenty  minutes.  If  equal 
distances  are  traveled  in  walk,  trot  and  canter,  it  will  take  four 
hours  and  nine  minutes.  The  total  energy  spent  in  the  former 

1  Landw.  Jahrb.,  1887,  Suppl.  Ill,  p.  120. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse. 


279 


case  with  a  rider  will  call  for  9.12  pounds  of  digestible  sub- 
stances in  the  feed  (exclusive  of  crude  fiber),  and  in  the  latter 
10.52  pounds.  A  daily  ration  of  8.8  pounds  of  good  meadow 
hay  and  about  11  pounds  of  oats  will  supply  the  demand  for  the 
former  effort,  and  8.8  pounds  of  hay  and  13.2  pounds  of  oats  the 
latter. 

438.  Rate  of  movement. —  In  practice  it  is  generally  assumed 
that  the  speed  of  the  horse  per  second  amounts  to  4.1  feet  in 
walking;  in  slow  trot,  8.2  feet;  in  rapid  trot,  12.3  feet;  in  short 
canter,  16.4  feet;  in  canter,  20.5  feet,  and  in  full  gallop,  24.6  feet. l 

The  strain  of  work  by  a  full-grown,  well-fed  horse  can,  accord- 
ing to  Eueff,  continue  on  an  average  for  eight  hours  a  day;  for 
instance,  a  horse  weighing  about  900  pounds  can  carry  176  pounds, 
with  a  speed  of  4.1  feet  per  second,  for  eight  hours  without  suf- 
fering exhaustion,  traveling  in  that  time  a  little  more  than  22 
miles.  The  length  of  time  can  be  increased,  but  if  more  energy 
is  called  into  play  by  increasing  both  the  load  and  the  speed,  the 
animal  will  become  exhausted.  If,  for  instance,  both  the  load 
and  the  speed  be  increased  one-fourth,  the  working  hours  must 
be  shortened  one-fourth,  and  vice  versa. 

439.  Influence  of  rapidity  of  work. —  The  amount  of  work  which 
a  horse  is  able  to  perform  on  a  certain  ration  remains  practically 
the  same  whether  done  during  a  shorter  or  longer  period  of  time, 
or  by  hauling  a  smaller  or  greater  load.     The  following  summary 
given  by  Wolff 2  shows  this  statement  to  be  correct: 

Influence  of  rapidity  of  work  by  the  horse  —  Wolff. 


Period. 

No.  of 
turns  of 
sweep. 

Load. 

Distance 
walked. 

Period  of 
walking. 

Total  day's 
work  per- 
formed. 

Work 
per 
second. 

I        

1,000 
750 
600 

Lbs. 

88 
132 
176 

Feet. 

86,560 
64,920 
51,950 

Minutes. 

515 
396 
354 

Foot- 
pounds. 

12,300,200 
12,279,300 
12,078,400 

Foot- 
pounds. 

397.8 
517.0 

568.2 

II  

Ill  

The  total  work  done  remained  practically  the  same  in  all  cases, 
and  the  nutritive  condition  of  the  horse  was  apparently  unchanged, 
i  Wolff,  Landw.  Jahrb.,  1887,  Suppl.  Ill,  p.  119.       2  Loc.  cit.,  p.  71. 


280  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  ability  of  the  horse  to  perform  a  definite  amount  of  work  was 
therefore  the  same  whether  it  was  performed  in  less  than  six  hours 
or  in  more  than  eight  hours. 

440.  An  example  of  severe  work. — Wolff  cites  the  intense  work 
of  the  mail-coach  horses  on  the  route  from  Plieningen  to  Stutt- 
gart, Germany.      Two  strongly-built,  spirited  horses,  in  good 
flesh,  drawing  a  heavy  mail-coach,  often  carrying  eight  passen- 
gers, go  twice  daily  out  and  home,  up  and  down  the  mountain 
road  at  a  trot.     The  total  distance  traveled  is  35  miles,  with  an 
average  speed  of  7.87  feet  per  second.     These  horses  are  fed 
daily  per  head  from  22  to  24  pounds  of  oats  mixed  with  cut  straw, 
and  in  addition  hay  ad  libitum,  of  which  they  eat  very  little  — 
often  none  at  all.     The  oats  consumed  contained  from  13.2  to  14.5 
pounds  of  digestible  matter,  and  the  day's  work  represents  at 
least  21, 660, 000  foot-pounds  per  horse.    "When  the  feed  equivalent 
of  the  work  performed  is  subtracted,  much  less  than  9.25  pounds 
of  the  digestible  matter  remains  as  the  maintenance  ration  when 
calculated  on  the  basis  of  a  weight  of  1,100  pounds  per  horse. 

441.  The  German  army  horse. —  The  German  army  horse  often 
travels  over  40  miles  in  a  day,  one-third  of  the  distance  being  in 
a  walk,  trot  and  gallop,  respectively.     This  work  means  an  ex- 
penditure of  energy  amounting  to  not  less  than  23, 748, 000  foot- 
pounds, or  a  feed  requirement  of  14.77  pounds  of  digestible  matter, 
including  the  food  of  support.     The  horses  are  fed  on  an  average  a 
ration  consisting  of  only  5.5  pounds  of  hay,  11  pounds  of  oats, 
and  some  cut  straw.     This  ration  contains  only  ab'out  8. 8  pounds 
of  digestible  components,  and  "it  is  therefore  not  hard  to  under- 
stand why  the  horses  lose  heavily  in  weight  during  the  maneuvers, 
and  that,  when  these  are  over,  a  large  number  of  animals  have  to 
be  disposed  of  as  not  adapted  for  use  in  military  service;  they  are 
also  unfit  for  almost  any  other  work." 

III.  The  Investigations  of  Grandeau  and  Leclere. 

442.  Digestibility  of  horse  feeds. —  Grandeau  and  Leclere1  stud- 
ied the  digestibility  of  horse  feeds  and  the  relation  of  food  to  the 
amount  of  work  performed  by  the  light  draft  horses  of  the  Paris 

*  Ann.  de  la  Sci.  Agron.,  1884,  Vol.  II,  p.  325. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse. 


281 


Cab  Company.  They  determined  the  digestibility  successively  of 
maintenance  rations,  rations  fed  horses  when  walking  without 
load,  and  rations  for  light-working  horses.  Three  horses  were 
included  in  the  experiments,  the  rations  consisting  of  about  three- 
fourths  grain  and  one-fourth  coarse  feed  supplied  in  the  following 
quantities: 

Rations  fed  horses  during  digestion  trials  —  Grandeau  and  Leclerc. 


Hay. 

Straw. 

Oats. 

Beans. 

Corn. 

Corn 
cake. 

Total. 

Maintenance  ration  

Lbs. 

2.3 
2.5 

Lbs. 

1.2 
1.4 

Lbs. 

4.3 

4.8 

Lbs. 

.9 
1.0 

Lbs. 

3.3 
3.5 

Lbs. 

.6 

.7 

Lbs. 

12.6 
13.9 

^Valking  ration  . 

3.5 

1  9 

6  5 

1  4 

4  8 

1.0 

19.1 

The  three  experimental  rations  stand  in  the  ratio  of  1: 1.1: 1.5. 
Each  period  lasted  a  month,  the  three  horses  being  successively 
put  on  the  same  rations  and  subjected  to  the  same  conditions.  The 
horses  weighed  972,  945  and  992  pounds  at  the  beginning  of  the 
experiments.  The  following  average  digestion  coefficients  for  the 
above  rations  were  obtained: 

Digestion  coefficients  for  rations  fed  three  horses  —  Grandeau  and 

Leclerc. 


Exercise. 

No. 
of 
trials. 

Organic 
matter. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Cellu- 
lose. 

Nitrogen- 
free  ex- 
tract. 

Ether 
extract. 

At  rest 

21 

72 

74 

46 

77 

58 

^\  alkin0'  no  work 

3 

72 

74 

44 

77 

59 

^Valking,  work  . 

3 

70 

72 

39 

75 

62 

Trot,  no  work  

3 

69 

69 

40 

76 

53 

Trot,  work  

6 

67 

67 

33 

73 

55 

The  digestibility  of  the  rations  when  the  horses  were  walking 
a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles  per  day  was  no  smaller  than  when 
at  rest.  There  was  an  extreme  depression  of  5  per  cent,  in  the 
digestibility  of  the  total  organic  matter  and  7  per  cent,  in  the 
protein  when  the  horses  were  worked  hard.  (433)  It  further 
appears  from  the  table  that  the  digestion  of  cellulose,  which 
eccurs  principally  in  the  colon  or  large  intestine,  is  affected  more 


282 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


than  any  other  constituent  by  the  amount  of  exercise  or  work; 
the  motion  of  the  horse  probably  determines  its  more  rapid  pas- 
sage through  the  system.  Grandeau  states  that  the  results  accord 
with  practical  experience,  which  teaches  that  the  digestion  of 
horses  is  relatively  the  most  efficient  when  they  are  resting  or 
doing  little  work. 

443.  Maintenance  rations  for  horses.1  — We  have  seen  that  by 
" maintenance  ration"  is  understood  the  minimum  supply  of 
feed  which  will  keep  a  horse  from  losing  weight  while  at  rest  in 
the  stable  with  only  the  small  amount  of  walking  exercise  neces- 
sary to  preserve  health.  (133)  In  Grandeau' s  experiments  with 
meadow  hay  as  the  sole  diet,  three  horses  were  kept  at  rest  for 
periods  amounting  to  four  or  five  months  each,  half  an  hour's 
walking  exercise  being  allowed  per  day.  Each  horse  received 
17.6  pounds  of  hay  per  day,  which  proved  exactly  sufficient  to 
maintain  his  weight  unaltered.  The  three  horses  did  not  digest 
the  hay  equally  well,  and  thus  each  horse  was  really  nourished 
and  its  weight  maintained  by  somewhat  different  amounts  of  food. 
The  average  result  for  each  horse  was  as  follows: 

Maintenance  experiments  with  horses  fed  meadow  hay  —  Grandeau 

and  Leclerc. 


Weight  of  horse. 

Total  organic  matter 
digested  per  day. 

Actual 
amount. 

Per  1,000 
Ibs.  weight. 

No  2   897  pounds         

Lbs. 

5.90 
5.98 
6.31 

Lbs. 

6.57 
7.00 

7.82 
7.02 

No  3   853  pounds      

No.  1,  806  pounds  

Grandeau  and  Leclerc  experimented  with  many  other  rations, 
"but  in  only  a  few  cases  did  their  maintenance  diets  exactly  meet 
the  wants  of  the  horse.  These  results  are  given  in  the  next 
table;  they  are  less  valuable  than  those  obtained  with  meadow 
hay,  given  above. 

1  After  Warington,  London  Live  Stock  Journal,  1894,  p.  49,  et  seq. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse. 


283 


Maintenance  experiments  with  horses  —  Grandeau  and  Leclerc. 


Diet. 

Weight  of 
horse. 

Total  organic  matter  per  day. 

In  ration. 

Digested. 

Digested 
per  1,000 
Ibs.  weight. 

Hay  alone  (mean)  

Lbs. 

868 
913 
1,013 
972 
906 

Lbs. 

14.08 
8.59 
11.57 

9.48 
9.49 

Lbs. 

6.09 
6.41 
8.33 
7.30 
6.74 

Lbs. 

7.02 
7.02 
8.22 
7.£0 
7.45 

Oaf  s  alone  (crushed)  

Corn  and  oat  straw  

Corn,  oats,  hay  and  straw... 
Corn,  oats,  hay  and  straw... 

These  figures  illustrate  very  plainly  the  weak  point  in  a  diet 
containing  much  hay  or  straw,  viz.,  the  large  quantity  which 
must  be  given  to  animals  to  produce  a  certain  effect,  due  to  the 
low  digestibility  of  these  feeds. 

444.  Protein  required  in  maintenance  rations.  1  —  In  construct- 
ing a  maintenance  ration  for  an  animal  it  is  important  to  know 
what  is  the  smallest  quantity  of  protein  required  to  replace  the 
daily  waste  of  the  body;  the  ration  should  of  course  never  supply 
less  than  this  amount.  The  quantity  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
exactly  determined  in  the  case  of  the  horse,  but  judging  from 
the  French  experiments  it  must  be  quite  small.  The  average 
amount  of  digestible  albuminoids  received  daily  by  the  three 
horses  during  fourteen  months  while  fed  entirely  upon  hay  was 
only .  54  pounds  per  1, 000  pounds  live  weight.  This  quantity  cor- 
responds to  that  determined  by  German  experiments  as  mini- 
mum quantities  for  an  ox  of  1,000  pounds  kept  on  a  maintenance 
diet  The  minimum  for  the  horse,  is,  however,  less  than  the 
above  average.  Horse  No.  3  during  June  and  July  received  a> 
daily  average  of  only  .48  pounds  per  1,000  pounds  weight,  yet 
this  was  apparently  sufficient,  as  the  horse  gained  about  five 
pounds  in  weight  during  these  two  months.  In  another  case 
the  same  horse  received  daily,  during  one  month,  only  ,37  pounds 
of  digestible  albuminoids  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight.  The 
horse  gained  somewhat  in  weight  while  at  rest,  but  the  analyses 
of  the  urine  showed  that  he  lost  rather  more  nitrogen  than  he 

1  After  Warington,  loc.  cit. 


284  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

received  in  the  food.  We  are  therefore  disposed  to  assume 
about  .45  pouuds  of  digestible  protein  per  1,000  pounds  live 
weight  as  the  minimum  quantity  for  the  maintenance  of  a  horse. 
Since  oats  contain  about  nine  per  cent,  of  digestible  protein, 
about  five  pounds  of  oats  daily  would  supply  all  the  protein 
necessary  to  replace  the  wear  of  muscular  tissue  in  the  horse 
during  rest.  This  amount  of  oats  would  contain  about  4.3  pounds 
of  organic  matter,  or  2.7  less  than  required  according  to  the  re- 
sults of  Grandeau's  experiments.  The  horse  would  therefore  be 
unable  to  hold  his  own  on  five  pounds  of  oats  alone,  but  would 
need  nearly  as  much  hay  in  addition.  (134) 

445.  Nutritive  ratio  for  work  horses. —  In  the  experiments  by 
Orandeau  conducted  in  1889-90,  the  question  of  the  most  profit- 
able nutritive  ratio  for  work  horses  was  considered. l  (132-4)  In 
place  of  the  ration  previously  fed,  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of 
about  1 : 7,  an  Indian  corn  and  straw  ration,  having  a  ratio  of 
1  : 10,  and  one  of  beans  and  straw,  with  a  ratio  of  1 : 3,  were  fed. 
The  effect  of  these  rations  was  studied  with  three  horses  for  a 
year,  they  being  at  rest  in  the  stall,  or  given  walking  or  trot- 
ting exercise,  or  work  at  the  sweep  at  a  walking  or  trotting 
pace,  or  finally  given  work  before  the  carriage.  The  rations 
varied  of  course  with  the  work  performed,  but  the  same  propor- 
tions of  each  feed  given  during  rest  were  continued  during  the 
other  periods,  the  quantities  only  being  increased.  The  corn  ra- 
tion fed  during  rest  was  9.4  pounds  corn,  5.4  pounds  cut  straw  j 
the  bean  ration  9  pounds  beans,  8.5  pounds  cut  straw.  The  straw 
fed  was  barley  straw  during  1889  and  oat  straw  during  1890. 
The  average  weight  of  the  three  horses  during  the  whole  experi- 
ment was,  for  corn  periods  976.8  and  for  bean  periods  1,045.5 
pounds.  The  increase  in  weight  was  partly  due  to  the  larger 
quantity  in  nutrients  of  the  bean  ration,  amounting  to  about  6  per 
cent.  In  spite  of  the  larger  quantities  of  nutrients  fed  during  the 
bean  periods,  the  effect  of  the  rations  was  about  the  same,  and 
when  a  difference  occurred  it  was  in  favor  of  the  corn.  A  better 
utilization  of  the  fodder  must  therefore  have  taken  place  during  the 
corn  periods,  since  there  was  no  evidence  of  any  difference  in  the 

1  Ann.  de  la  Sci.  Agr.,  1892,  p.  1. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse.  285 

nutritive  condition  of  the  horse  or  in  its  capacity  for  work  in  favor 
of  beans.  The  main  difference  in  the  rations  is  in  the  greater 
protein  content  of  the  bean  ration,  the  quantity  of  carbohydrates 
being  practically  the  same  in  both  cases. 

The  conclusion  drawn,  therefore,  is  that  a  very  narrow  nutritive 
ratio  is  not  advantageous,  but  that  experience  must  still  decide 
how  far  the  ration  may  be  profitably  widened.  The  author  bel  ie  ves 
that  1 :  7  is  about  a  correct  nutritive  ratio  for  the  utilization  of  all 
components  of  the  ration  for  the  work  horse.  (434) 

446.  Feed  required  for  performing  work. —  Grandeau's  re- 
searches 1  do  not  furnish  much  information  as  to  the  quantity  of 
feed  required  for  the  performance  of  known  amounts  of  work,  for 
although  graduated  amounts  of  measured  work  were  performed 
by  the  horses  under  each  diet,  it  was  rare  that  the  ration  proved 
exactly  sufficient  for  maintaining  the  horses'  weight  without  gain 
or  loss.  Some  points  of  importance  were,  however,  clearly  made 
out.  One  of  these  is  the  effect  of  pace  on  the  amount  of  labor 
exerted  and  the  feed  required  therefor.  Thus,  a  horse  walking 
12.5  miles  per  day  was  kept  in  condition  with  a  daily  ration  of 
19.4  pounds  of  hay,  while  one  of  24  pounds  was  insufficient  when 
the  same  distance  was  covered  at  a  trot.  Again,  a  horse  walking 
the  above  distance  and  hauling  a  load,  the  additional  work  being 
equivalent  to  1,943  foot- tons,  was  sufficiently  nourished  by  a 
ration  of  26.4  pounds  of  hay,  but  one  of  32.6  pounds  (all  the 
horse  would  eat)  was  not  enough  to  maintain  its  weight  when  the 
same  work  was  done  at  a  trot.  That  work  is  performed  at  least 
cost  to  the  system  when  done  slowly  is  a  fact  well  recognized  by 
every  old  and  feeble  man,  but  the  principle  has  not  generally 
been  recognized  as  true  in  all  cases. 

Some  of  the  reasons  why  rapid  labor  is  less  economically  per- 
formed than  slow  labor  are  readily  apparent.  When  a  horse  is 
trotting,  the  frequency  of  the  pulse,  and  consequently  the  work 
performed  by  the  heart,  is  much  increased.  The  trotting  or  gal- 
loping horse  lifts  his  own  weight  at  each  step,  but  allows  it  to 
fall  again,  the  result  appearing  only  as  heat.  The  temperature 
of  the  horse  rises  with  exertion,  and  much  heat  is  lost  by  the 

1  After  Warington,  loc.  cit. 


286 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


evaporation  of  water  through,  the  skin  and  lungs.  The  propor- 
tion of  the  food  employed  to  produce  heat  is  thus  increased,  while 
the  proportion  appearing  as  work  is  diminished.  There  are  other 
mechanical  reasons  why  rapid  motion  generally  consumes  more 
power  than  slow  motion,  even  when  the  distance  traveled  and  the 
weight  moved  are  the  same.  Grandeau  gives  tables  showing  the 
temperature  of  the  body  of  the  horse  before  and  after  work. 
When  the  work  performed  was  at  all  severe,  a  very  distinct  rise 
in  body  temperature  was  observed  —  from  2°  to  4°  Fahr. 

447.  Water  drank  by  horses. —  Grandeau  and  Leclerc  l  report 
the  following  quantities  of  water  drank  by  two  horses  under  dif- 
ferent conditions: 

Horse  A.  Horse  B. 

Lbs.  daily.  Lbs.  daily. 

Walking,  performing  no  labor 24.9  30.7 

Walking,  performing  labor. 28.9  35.4 

Trotting,  performing  no  labor 31.3  27 . 6 

Trotting,  performing  labor 52.0  50.7 

448.  Loss  of  weight  during  work. —  Grandeau  and  Leclerc' s  in- 
vestigations 2  furnish  abundant  material  for  studying  the  loss  of 
weight  of  horses  and  the  quantities  of  water  drank  during  differ- 
ent kinds  of  work.     The  following  are  some  of  the  results: 

Loss  in  weight  of  horses  during  work  and  when  at  rest  —  Grandeau 

and  Leclerc. 


No.  of  horse. 

Av. 

live 
weight. 

Av.  length  of 
trial. 

Walking,  no 
work. 

Water 
drank 
per 
day. 

Walking, 
work. 

Water 
drank 

day. 

Loss  in  weight. 

Loss  in  weight. 

A.M. 

P.M. 

A.M. 

P.M. 

A.M. 

P.M. 

Ill 

Lbs. 

850 
800 

Min. 

145 
145 

Min. 

J51 
151 

Lbs. 

2.0 
2.8 

Lbs. 

1.6 

2.7 

Lbs. 

24.9 
30.7 

Lbs. 

2.8 
4.9 

Lbs. 

3.9 
5.4 

Lbs. 

28.9 
35.4 

I  

Ill 

850 

800 

80 
79 

79 
79 

Trotting,  no 
work. 

31.3 

27.6 

Trotting, 
work. 

52.0 
50.7 

2.7 
4.5 

3.2 
5.5 

8.0 
9.7 

9.1 
10.5 

I  

The  difference  between  the  loss  in  weight  of  the  horse  when 
walking  and  trotting,  or  that  obtained  when  working  and  idle,  is 


1  Loc.  cit. 

2  Ann.  Sci.  Agr.,  1888,  II,  p.  276. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse.  287 

due  not  only  to  wear  of  muscles  and  decomposition  of  nutritive 
fluids  in  the  body  of  the  animal,  but  is  partly  accounted  for  by 
the  increased  evaporation  of  water  due  to  the  heavier  work.  The 
water  evaporated  daily  under  varying  conditions  of  exercise,  as 
determined  in  experiments  with  different  diets,  was  as  follows: 

Water  evaporated 
Condition  of  horse.  per  day,  Ibs. 

At  rest 6.4 

Walking  exercise 8.6 

At  work,  walking 12.7 

Trotting 13.4 

At  work,  trotting 20.6 

The  distance  trotted  was  the  same  as  that  walked,  and  the  load 
drawn  was  the  same.  The  heat  consumed  in  the  evaporation  of 
water  was  quite  considerable.  The  exhalation  of  water  by  breath 
and  perspiration  thus  diminishes  the  quantity  of  food  available 
for  the  production  of  work. 

IV.  Miscellaneous  Findings  by  the  Investigators. 

449.  Relation  of  speed  to  work. —  According  to  M.  Fourier, l 
the  daily  work  of  a  good  horse  has  a  maximum,  under  the  best 
load  for  each  speed,  of  about  2.95  feet  per  second,  or  10,596  feet 
(two  miles  nearly)  an  hour.  Taking  this  maximum  as  unity, 
he  gives  the  following  as  the  probable  value  of  work  per  pound 
at  other  speeds: 

Feet.  Miles.  Daily  work. 

6,560  1.25  0.69 

10,596  2.00  1.00 

13,120  2.50  .99 

19,680  3.75  .94 

26,240  5.00  .83 

32,800  6.25  .68 

39,360  7.50  .51 

45,920  8.75  .33 

52,480  10.00  .18 

59,040  11.25  .07 

The  data  presented  show  that  the  horse  is  at  his  best  for  draw- 
ing a  load  when  moving  at  the  rate  of  about  two  miles  per  hour. 

1  Genie  Rural,  III,  175,  quoted  by  Thurston,  The  Animal  as  a  Machine 
and  a  Prime  Motor,  p.  52. 


288  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

If  the  speed  be  increased  beyond  this,  then  less  of  the  energy 
can  be  devoted  to  drawing  the  load.  With  a  speed  of  ten  miles 
per  hour  about  two-tenths  of  the  maximum  work  can  be  per- 
formed, and  a  further  increase  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter  per  hour  re- 
duces the  possible  work  to  less  than  one- tenth  of  the  maximum. 

"  Where  the  animal  must  develop  maximum  power  continuously 
at  any  considerable  speed,  the  number  required  for  a  specific 
work  will  always  be  greatly  increased.  Thus,  in  coaching,  the 
proprietors  of  mail-coaches,  even  on  the  admirable  highways  of 
Great  Britain,  maintain  one  horse  per  mile  of  route  for  each 
coach  and  worked  in  fours,  so  that,  going  and  returning,  each 
travels  eight  miles  per  day,  working  only  an  hour  or  less  each 
day  on  the  average.  The  coach  weighs,  loaded,  two  tons,  and 
its  coefficient  of  friction  on  good  roads  is  about  .035." 

Draft  horses  moving  two  and  one-half  miles  an  hour  are  ex- 
pected to  do  seven  times  the  work  of  coach  horses  moving  ten 
miles. l 

450.  Work  done  by  the  horse  and  the  mule. —  Eennie2  found 
the  hauling  power  of  a  draft  horse  weighing  1,200  pounds 
equal  to  about  108  pounds  at  2.5  miles  an  hour,  or  22,300  foot- 
pounds per  minute,  for  8  hours  per  day  —  a  twenty-mile  haul. 
This  is  a  little  over  two-thirds  of  a  Watt  horse-power,  at  which 
value  Eennie  rates  the  average  draft  horse,  and  this  is  taken 
to  be,  ordinarily,  five  times  the  power  of  a  man.  Between  2.5 
and  4  miles  an  hour,  the  hauling  power  of  the  horse  is  nearly 
inversely  as  the  speed. 

The  mule  carries  a  load  of  200  to  400  pounds,  and  its  day's 
work  consists,  usually,  in  the  transportation  of  the  equivalent  of 
5,000  to  6,000  pounds  one  mile.  The  ass  carries  175  pounds  and 
upward,  and  its  day's  work  is  the  equivalent  of  3,000  to  4,000 
pounds  one  mile. 

According  to  Weisbach,  a  horse  should  be  able  to  carry  240 
pounds  on  its  back  3.5  feet  per  second  ten  hours  a  day.  Carrying 
160  pounds  he  should  be  able  to  trot  seven  feet  per  second  seven 
hours  a  day,  doing  in  the  day  nearly  ten  per  cent,  less  work  than 
before. 


1  Barbour,  Cyclopaedia  of  Manufactures. 

*  Thurston,  The  Animal  as  a  Machine  and  a  Prime  Motor,  p.  59. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse.  289 

The  pulling  power  of  a  draft  animal  is  said  to  be,  as  a  rule, 
about  one-fifth  its  weight.  Its  usual  effort,  in  the  case  of  the 
horse  at  least,  is  seldom  in  excess  of  one-tenth,  or  about  one-half 
the  maximum.  One  hundred  pounds  is  a  common  pull  for  the 
average  horse  in  draft  vehicles. 

In  racing  the  requirement  of  speed  reduces  the  work  performed 
( carrying  the  rider)  to  the  smallest  amount  possible.  Law  writes : l 
"  When  it  is  considered  that  an  ounce  of  additional  loading  to 
the  same  horse  may  make  the  difference  of  a  yard  or  more  in  half 
a  mile  of  running,  it  will  be  seen  how  greatly  the  weight  borne 
may  affect  the  issue  in  the  case  of  horses  of  equal  powers. " 

451.  Investigations  by  Muentz. — Miintz  2  determined  the  digesti- 
bility of  a  large  number  of  feeding  stuffs  fcr  horses  at  rest  receiv- 
ing only  one  kind  of  feed  at  a  time.     The  digestion  coefficients 
for  the  total  organic  matter  were:     Corn,  94.5  per  cent;  barley, 
84.5  per  cent.;  beans,  84.5  per  cent.;  oats,  75.1  percent.;  wheat 
bran,  93.3  per  cent.;  meadow  hay,  43.3  to  61.0  per  cent.;  wheat 
straw,  49.4  per  cent. ;  carrots,  94.6  per  cent.     Corn  and  bran  thus 
appear  to  be  the  most  digestible  of  the  common  horse  feeds.   (175) 
The  digestibility  attributed  to  wheat  straw  is  higher  than  that 
calculated  from  Wolffs  experiments,  in  which  it  was  fed  in  con- 
nection with  other  feeds  of  known  digestibility.     Twenty- one  per 
cent,  of  the  organic  matter  was  calculated  as  digestible  in  WolfFs 
experiments  made  with  three  lots  of  straw  in  six  single  trials. 3 

In  Miintz's  experiments,  33  pounds  of  straw  were  consumed 
daily  by  the  horse  during  the  last  month,  supplying  13  pounds  of 
digestible  matter,  yet  the  horse  died  from  exhaustion;  the  ration 
in  fact  supplied  only  .157  pounds  of  digestible  protein,  or  about 
one-third  of  the  quantity  necessary  for  maintenance. 

452.  Water  drank  by  the  horse. —  The  amount  of  water  drank 
by  the  horse  varies  with  the  character  of  the  feed,  as  shown  in  the 
researches  of  the  various  experiments.     It  is  smallest  when  the 
diet  is  largely  ma,de  up  of  concentrates  and  largest  when  roughage 
only  is  given.     "With  the  mixed  diet  employed  for  the  Paris  cab 
horse  the  average  proportion  of  water  to  dry  matter  was  2.1 : 1 

1  Breeds  of  the  Domestic  Animals  of  the  British  Isles. 
*  Warington,  London  Live  Stock  Journal,  1894,  pp.  9,  49. 
»  Dietrich  and  Konig,  Futterm.,  Vol.  II,  p.  1097. 
19 


290 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


when  the  horse  was  at  rest,  and  3.6:1  when  the  horse  did  cab 
service.  Individual  horses  differ  greatly  in  the  quantity  of  water 
drank.  The  relation  of  the  feed  eaten,  work  done  and  water  drank 
by  horses  is  shown  by  the  data  given  in  Wolff >s  experiments. l 

Amount  of  water  drank  by  horses  —  Wolff. 


Feed  per  day. 

Daily  work. 

Water. 

Water 

Period. 

Hay. 

Oats. 

Revo- 
lutions 
of 

Trac- 
tion. 

Daily 
tem- 
pera- 
ture. 

Water 
drank. 

In 
dung. 

In 
urine. 

Ex- 
pired 
and 

per  Ib. 
dry 
mat- 
ter. 

sweep. 

spired. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

c. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1  

15  4 

12  1 

1  000 

88 

—5  1 

61  5 

29  6 

18  3 

17  7 

2  8 

2  

15  4 

12  1 

750 

132 

4  1 

64  6 

30  1 

19  4 

19  0 

2  9 

3  

15  4 

12  1 

600 

176 

_  1 

58  8 

29  8 

19  8 

13  5 

27 

4  

11  0 

12  1 

550 

132 

10  2 

47  1 

21  6 

15  6 

13  1 

2  4 

5 

6  6 

12  1 

350 

132 

8  5 

35  8 

16  9 

11  4 

10  0 

2  4 

6 

6  6 

15  4 

700 

132 

17  8 

41  3 

20  5 

13  6 

10  4 

24 

Corn. 

7  .  . 

15  4 

7  7 

650 

132 

19  4 

58  9 

24  1 

15  4 

22  2 

3  1 

8  

24.3 

300 

132 

19.5 

73.0 

35.3 

21.6 

18.7 

3.5 

The  water  in  the  feed,  which  ranged  from  2.7  to  4.2  pounds, 
is  not  included  in  the  first  part  of  the  table.  The  figures  in  the 
last  column  show  the  number  of  pounds  of  water  drank  and  that 
contained  in  the  feed  per  pound  of  dry  matter  consumed.  The 
preceding  shows  that  the  amount  of  water  drank  by  the  horse 
varies  mdre  than  that  of  any  other  domestic  animal  and  should 
be  supplied  according  to  requirements.  The  wisdom  of  supplying 
it  frequently  during  hard  labor  is  plainly  indicated  in  these  data. 

453.  Decrease  in  weight  of  the  horse  during  work. — Eueff 2  in- 
vestigated the  loss  in  weight  of  horses  during  work,  correction 
being  made  for  the  fodder  eaten  and  the  dung  dropped.  Farm 
horses  doing  medium  work  lost  on  an  average  7. 7  pounds  in  weight 
during  eleven  hours.  The  following  results  were  obtained  with 
German  army  horses:  A  division  of  riding  horses  ridden  for  25 
minutes  in  walk,  trot  and  gallop  lost  on  an  average  4  pounds  in 
weight.  A  gelding  8  years  old,  carrying  a  weight  of  176  pounds, 
in  training  as  a  school  horse,  lost  11  pounds  in  25  minutes;  another 
horse  the  same;  after  24  hours  only  1  pound  was  regained.  A 

1  Landw.  Jahrb.  1887,  Suppl.  Ill,  p.  109. 

2  Landw.  Wochenbl.    d.  k.  k.  Ackerbaum.,  1870,  109;  v.  Gohren,  Fiit- 
terungeslehre,  1872,  p.  370. 


Investigations  Concerning  the  Horse.  291 

14-year-old  blind  stallion  ridden  for  an  hour  and  thirty  minutes 
by  a  rider  weighing  166  pounds  lost  33  pounds  weight;  during 
24  hours  22  pounds  were  regained.  A  23-year-old  mare  weighing 
770  pounds,  ridden  for  a  distance  of  six  miles  in  walk  or  trot,  lost 
22  pounds. 

454.  Variation    in  weight. —  Boussingault1  studied  the  varia- 
tions in  weight  of  horses  while  on  the  same  feed  and  under  simi- 
lar conditions.     The  changes  in  the  weights  of  two  horses,  found 
in  fifteen  daily  weighings  between  December  16  and  31,  are  shown 

below:2 

Weight  of  Weight  of 

horse,  Ibs.  mare,  Ibs. 

Average,  December  16  to  31 994.4  1,081.9 

Maximum  weight 1,010.9  1,092.7 

Minimum  weight 985.6  1,064.8 

Greatest  difference  above  average 16.5  10.8 

Greatest  difference  below  average 8.8  17.1 

Difference  between  extreme  weights..       25.3  27.9 

Another  horse  12  years  old,  taken  fasting  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  weighed  1,051  pounds.  At  the  same  hour  of  the  nexfc 
day  he  weighed  1,060  pounds,  and  at  the  same  hour  on  the  third 
day  1,038  pounds.  Boussingault  calls  attention  to  the  necessity 
of  carrying  on  feeding  experiments  for  a  considerable  time  and 
with  several  animals,  in  order  to  escape,  or  at  all  events  lessen, 
the  errors  that  would  be  introduced  into  the  conclusions  by  these 
accidental  differences  in  weight. 

455.  Effect  of  disturbed  conditions  on  horses. —  Lehmann,  Hage- 
mann  and  Zuntz3  found  that  the  disturbance  of  horses  in  the 
stable  has  a  decided  influence  on  the  consumption  of  feed.     The 
presence  of  many  flies  caused  an  excretion  of  carbonic  acid  of  10 
per  cent,  above  that  in  case  of  those  not  so  annoyed. 

1  Agronomic,  Chemie  Agricole  et  Physiologie,  5  (1874),  p.  156. 
*  Ann.  de  la  Sci.  Agron.,  1884,  II,  p.  330;  Hural  Economy,  p.  397. 
«  Landw.  Jahrb.,  XXIII,  1894,  p.  125. 


CHAPTEE  XVHI. 

FEEDS  FOE  THE  HORSE. 

456.  Oats. —  Horses  nurtured  on  oats  show  mettle  which  can- 
not be  reached  by  the  use  of  any  other  feeding  stuff.   (188)  Then, 
too,  there  is  no  grain  so  safe  for  horse  feeding,  the  animal  rarely 
being  seriously  injured  if  by  accident  or  otherwise  the  groom 
deals  out  an  over  supply.     This  safety  is  due  in  no  small  measure 
to  the  presence  of  the  oat  hull,  which  causes  a  given  weight  of 
grain  to  possess  considerable  volume,  because  of  which  there  is 
less  liability  of  mistake  in  measuring  out  the  ration;  further,  the 
digestive  tract  cannot  hold  a  quantity  of  oat  grains  sufficient  to 
produce  serious  disorders.     Unless  the  horse  is  hard  pressed  for 
time  or  has  poor  teeth,  oats  should  be  fed  in  the  whole  condition. 
Musty  oats  should  be  avoided. 

Horsemen  generally  agree  that  new  oats  should  not  be  used, 
though  Boussingault, l  conducting  extensive  experiments  with 
army  horses,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  new  oats  do  not  pos- 
sess the  injurious  qualities  attributed  to  them. 

457.  Substitutes  for  oats. —  According  to  experiments  made 
at  Hohenheim  (Germany)  and  Paris,  oats  may  often  be  profit- 
ably replaced  by  other  concentrated  and  easily  digested  feeding 
stuffs  for  the  production  of  work  by  horses.     Because  of  their 
palatability  it  seems  desirable  and  advantageous  not  to  entirely 
omit  oats  from  the  ration,  but  only  to  reduce  the  allowance  to  a 
certain  minimum.     This  is,  however,  very  important  at  times 
on  account  of  the  high  market  value  of  this  grain.     During 
feeding  experiments  at  Hohenheim  in  1893-94,  a  horse  was  fed 
a  daily  ration  consisting  of  6  pounds  of  meadow  hay,  5  pounds  of 
cut  straw,  2  pounds  of  oats,  3  pounds  of  field  beans,  8  pounds  of 

1  Ann.  de  la  Sci.  Agron.,  1884,  II,  p.  331. 


Feeds  for  the  Horse.  293 

corn  and  about  1  ounce  of  salt  per  1,000  pounds  weight.  The 
nutritive  ratio  of  this  ration  is  about  1:6.4.  In  case  of  work 
horses,  especially  those  doing  rapid  work,  not  accustomed  to 
voluminous  rations  and  not  having  the  capacity  for  them,  more 
intensive  feeding  will  be  in  order,  such,  for  instance,  as  that 
practiced  by  the  Paris  Omnibus  Company,  where  28  per  cent,  of 
the  rations  for  horses  consists  of  roughage  (meadow  hay  and  oat 
straw  in  the  proportion  of  2:1),  and  72  per  cent.,  or  nearly 
three-fourths,  of  concentrates  (oats,  bean,  corn,  oil  cake),  the 
nutritive  ratio  being  about  1 :  7.2. l 

458.  Relative  value  of  oats,  beans  and  corn. —  As  a  result  of 
feeding  experiments  with  horses  at  Hohenheim,  Wolff 2  concludes 
that  in  feeding  work  horses,  4  pounds  of  oats  are  equivalent  to  3.5 
pounds  of  field  beans,  and  4  pounds  of  beans  to  3.5  pounds  of 
corn.     On  the  basis  of  these  figures,  oats,  beans  and  corn  have  a 
relative  value  for  horses  of  4  :  3.5  : 3,  or  perhaps  more  correctly, 
5:4.5:4. 

459.  Relative  value  of  hay  and  oats. —  According  to  WolfPs8  ex- 
periments, 2.5  pounds  of  good  meadow  hay  have  an  equal  nutritive 
value  of  1.5  pounds  of  oats,  if  the  digestible  crude  fiber  be  in- 
cluded in  both  cases;  without  this  the  ratio  will  be  2  : 1. 

460.  Barley. —  This  useful  grain  for  the  horse  has  as  yet  been  lit- 
tle fed  in  the  eastern  United  States,  probably  because  of  its  gen- 
eral high  price.     On  the  Pacific  coast  barley  is  extensively  used 
for  feeding  horses  at  all  kinds  of  work.     Where  the  horse's  teeth 
are  good  and  the  labor  not  severe,  barley  may  be  fed  whole. 
Ground  barley,  when  mixed  with  the  saliva,  like  wheat,  forms  a 
pasty  mass  in  the  mouth,  and  is  therefore  unpleasant  to  the  horse 
while  eating;  if,  instead  of  grinding,  the  grains  are  crushed  to 
flattened  discs  between  iron  rollers,  they  are  more  palatable  and 
acceptable  to  the  horse.   (178) 

461.  Dried  brewers'  grains. —  At  the  New  Jersey  Station, 4  dried 
brewers'  grains  were  fed  to  street-car  horses  in  place  of  oats. 
Horses  averaging  17COO  pounds  in  weight  were  required  to  make 

1  Wolff,  Ldw.  Jahrb.,  XXIV,  p.  267. 

2  Loc.  cit. 

8  Ldw.  Jahrb..  XXIV,  p.  269. 
*  Itept.  1892. 


294:  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

\ 

four  trips  daily  of  six  miles  each,  with  increased  work  on  Sundays. 
The  rations  were  as  follows: 


Oat  Ration. 


Pounds, 


Hay '....    6 

Wheat  bran 2 

Corn,  unground 4 

8 


Dried  Brewers'  Grains  Ration. 
Pounds. 

Hay 6 

Wheat  bran 2 

Corn,  unground 4 

Dried  brewers'  grains -8 

Each  ration  was  fed  to  a  group  of  four  horses  for  a  month,  then 
the  two  feeds  reversed  for  a  second  month.  Then  followed  a 
period  in  which  the  stable  ration  prevailed  with  both  lots,  the 
trial  closing  with  a  month's  feeding  of  the  two  rations  to  the 
original  lots,  as  in  the  first  instance.  The  veterinarian  in  charge 
of  the  horses  reports:  ' 1 1  have  watched  the  horses  closely  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  experiment  and  have  failed  to  dis- 
cover any  ill  effects  from  the  use  of  dried  brewers'  grains.  The 
horses  fed  the  grains  have  been  as  healthy  as  I  have  ever  known 
them  to  be."  The  conclusions  of  the  Station  authorities  were: 
"That  in  both  rations  the  nutrients  furnished  were  sufficient  to 
maintain  the  weight  of  the  animals  under  average  work,"  and 
"  That  on  the  whole,  a  pound  of  dried  brewers'  grains  was  quite 
as  useful  as  a  pound  of  oats  in  a  ration  for  work  horses."  It  wa& 
found  that  the  oat  ration  cost,  at  prevailing  prices,  24. 3  cents  per 
day,  while  the  ration  containing  brewers'  grains  cost  19.4  cents, 
a  difference  of  4.9  cents  per  day  per  horse,  or  twenty  per  cent,  of 
the  cost  of  the  oat  ration  —  an  insignificant  amount  perhaps  for  a 
single  horse,  but  making  an  aggregate  of  great  importance  for 
large  establishments. 

According  to  Wolff,1  "The  effect  of  dried  brewers'  grains 
has  been  found  to  be  uncertain,  and  on  that  account  their  use 
has  been  abandoned  by  the  German  war  department. ' '  While 
brewers'  grains  dried  by  any  open-air  process  may  be  subject  to 
criticism,  the  charge  cannot  stand  for  grains  which  are  dried 
rapidly  in  partial  vacuum.  (183) 

462.  Wheat.— At  the  North  Dakota  Station,  2  Shepperd  fed 
No.  1  hard  unground  wheat  to  three  horses  for  four  weeks,  sup- 

1  Farm  Foods,  Eng.  ed.,  p.  247. 
»  Bui.  JO, 


Feeds  for  the  Horse. 


295 


plying  each  animal  about  fourteen  pounds  daily.  These  horses 
averaged  nine  hours'  work  daily  for  all  the  working  days  of  the 
month.  The  horses  gained  in  weight  during  the  trial.  Concern- 
ing wheat  as  a  horse  feed  Shepperd  writes:  "It  was  with  diffi- 
culty that  they  (the  horses)  were  kept  from  getting  l  off  feed > 
and  otherwise  deranged  in  digestion,  when  fed  this  ration  of  pure 
wheat.  A  large  proportion  of  the  kernels  were  passed  through 
the  alimentary  tract  unbroken,  while  other  grains  were  broken 
but  only  partially  digested.  .  .  .  The  test  demonstrated  clearly 
that  it  is  not  advisable  to  use  wheat  alone  as  a  grain  ration  for 
horses,  and  the  less  expert  the  feeder  the  greater  the  risk. ' '  ( 166-9) 
463.  Bran  and  shorts  compared  with  oats. —  Shepperd  l  com- 
pared bran  and  oats  as  a  feed  for  work  horses  and  mules  in  sum- 
mer, eight  horses  and  four  mules  being  used.  The  animals  were 
divided  into  two  even  lots,  all  receiving  good  prairie  hay  for 
roughage.  To  one  lot  was  fed  oats,  while  the  other  received  a 
mixture  of  bran  and  shorts,  equal  parts  by  weight.  The  horses 
averaged  somewhat  more  than  seven  hours  work  per  day,  the 
labor  being  quite  severe. 

Bran  and  shorts,  equal  parts  by  weight,  compared  with  oats  —  North 

Dakota  Station. 


Grain 
eaten. 

Gain  or  loss 
in  weight. 

Work 
done. 

Feeding  bran  and  shorts. 
Total  equal  to  876  horses  one  day  . 

Lbs. 
12  910 

Lbs. 
Loss  10 

Hours. 
5  705 

"\Veekly  averatre  per  horse                

103 

Loss    1-12 

1  46 

Feeding  oats. 
Total  equal  to  792  horses  one  day  

11,838 

Gain  10 

4,796 

"Weekly  average  per  horse 

105 

Gain   1  12 

42 

It  is  shown  that  the  horses  fed  bran  and  shorts  ate  somewhat 
less  concentrates  per  week,  lost  a  little  in  weight,  but  did  three 
and  one-half  hours  more  work  per  week  each  than  those  fed  oats. 
Upon  the  whole,  bran  and  shorts  proved  of  equal  worth  to  oats 
for  feeding  horses  and  mules.  (174-5) 

464.  Bran,  whole  wheat  and  shorts  versus  bran  and  shorts. — 
Shepperd  2  also  compared  the  value  of  a  mixture  of  bran,  wheat 


Loc.  cit. 


2  Loc.  cit. 


296 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


and  shorts,  equal  parts  by  weight,  with  bran  and  shorts  only,  for 
horses. 

Feeding  bran,  wheat  and  shorts,  in  opposition  to  bran  and  shorts  — 
North  Dakota  Station. 


Grain 
eaten. 

Gain  or  loss 
in  weight. 

Work 
done. 

Feeding  bran}  wheat  and  shorts. 
Total,  12  horses  4  weeks  

Lbs. 
5  068 

Lbs. 
Gain   20 

Hours. 

1  775 

Average,  1  horse  4  weeks  

422 

Gain     2 

148 

Feeding  bran  and  shorts. 
Total,  12  horses  4  weeks  

4  941 

Gain  160 

1,642 

Average,  1  horse  4  weeks  

412 

Gain    13 

137 

The  summary  shows  that  each  horse  fed  whole  wheat,  in  addi- 
tion to  bran  and  shorts,  while  doing  eleven  hours  more  work  con- 
sumed ten  pounds  more  grain  and  gained  eleven  pounds  less  per 
month,  on  the  average,  than  those  getting  bran  and  shorts  only. 
This  indicates  that  whole  wheat  has  no  advantage  over  the  same 
weight  of  bran  and  shorts  in  the  ration. 

465.  Ground  wheat  and  bran  compared  with  oats. —  Shepperd  1 
next  fed  a  mixture  of  two  parts  ground  wheat  and  one  part  bran, 
by  weight,  to  one  lot  of  work  horses,  while  another  received  whole 
oats.  The  trial  began  in  November  and  continued  until  March, 
with  the  results  here  given: 

Whole  oats  compared  with  a  mixture  of  two  parts  ground  wheat  and  one 
part  bran,  by  weight  —  North  Dakota  Station. 


Grain 
eaten. 

Gain  or  loss 
in  weight. 

Work 
done. 

Feeding  wheat  meal  and  bran. 
Total,  6  horses  4  weeks. 

Lbs. 
1,266 

Lbs. 
Gain  95 

Hours. 
310 

Average  per  horse,  4  weeks 

211 

Gain  16 

52 

Feeding  oats. 
Total,  6  horses  4  weeks  

1,413 

Loss   5 

296 

Average  per  horse,  4  weeks  

235 

Loss   1 

49 

In  these  trials,  although  the  horses  getting  oats  ate  somewhat 
more  grain,  they  showed  a  slight  loss  in  weight  while  doing  some- 
what less  work  than  those  fed  ground  wheat  and  bran. 

1  Loc.  cit. 


Feeds  for  the  Horse.  297 

Shepperd  concludes:  "The  horses  did  nicely  on  the  ration 
consisting  of  two  parts  ground  wheat  and  one  part  bran  with 
prairie  hay.  Wheat  is  a  concentrated  food  and  needs  this  amount 
of  bran  to  make  it  loose  and  cooling  enough  for  the  digestive  sys- 
tem of  the  horse." 

466.  Boiled  rye  as  a  substitute  for  oats. —  It  having  been  stated 
that  rye,  boiled  till  the  grain  bursts,  may  be  used  as  a  substitute 
for  an  equal  volume  of  oats  in  the  keep  of  a  horse,  Boussingault1 
tested  the  matter  with  two  horses  which  had  been  previously  fed 
a  ration  consisting  of  22  pounds  of  hay  and  5.5  pounds  of  oats. 
The  same  volume  of  boiled  rye,  containing  4.15  pounds  of  un- 
cooked grain,  was  then  substituted  for  the  oats.     Average  weight 
of  horses:  first  weighing,  1,004.5  pounds •  second  weighing,  963 
pounds,*  loss  per  head  during  11  days,  41.5  pounds. 

Boussingault  writes:  "  In  fact  with  such  a  ration  as  this,  in 
which  water  was  made  to  replace  solid  corn,  no  other  result  could 
reasonably  be  expected. "  (177) 

467.  Indian  corn. —  Next  to  oats,  corn  is  the  common  grain  for 
horses  in  America,  being  used  most  largely  in  the  southern  por- 
tion of  the  corn  belt  and  southward  in  the  cotton  states.     While 
conceding  that  corn  is  not  the  equal  of  oats  as  a  grain  for  the  horse, 
nevertheless,  because  of  its  low  cost  and  the  high  feeding  value  it 
possesses,  this  grain  will  be  extensively  used  where  large  numbers 
of  horses  must  be  economically  maintained.  Corn  may  be  fed  whole 
to  horses,  but  generally  it  is  made  fine  by  grinding  and  mixed 
with  various  other  concentrates.   (158)     Corn  and  cob  meal  is 
preferable  to  pure  corn  meal.     Corn  meal  alone  is  a  sodden  sub- 
stance in  the  animal's  stomach,  and  should  be  diluted  or  extended 
with  something  of  light  character.     Bran  serves  well  for  this  pur- 
pose because  of  its  lightness  and  cooling  effect  as  well  as  the  protein 
and  mineral  matter  it  furnishes.   (451)     Corn  is  best  suited  to 
animals  at  plain,  steady  work.     Its  supply  should  be  limited  with 
colts  and  growing  horses  because  of  its  lack  of  ash  and  protein. 
Wolff2  quotes  Lehmann  in  the  following    statement:     "Maize 
contains  a  high  proportion  of  digestible  carbohydrates,  and  tends 

1  Rural  Economy. 

2  Farm  Foods,  Eng.  ed.,  p.  246. 


298  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

to  make  tlie  animal  fat  and  liable  to  sweat;  while  it  improves  their 
appearance,  it  somewhat  detracts  from  their  physical  energy." 

468.  The  Paris  Omnibus   Company's  experiments. —  The  Paris 
Omnibus  Company,  employing  nearly  ten  thousand  horses,  began 
feeding  trials  with  Indian  corn  in  1874. 1     Sixteen  horses  of  dif- 
ferent ages  having  up  to  the  time  of  the  experiment  been  fed  a 
ration  consisting  of  18.7  pounds  of  oats,  1.8  pounds  of  bran,  with 
hay  and  straw  additional,  received,  gradually,  more  and  more  corn 
in  the  place  of  oats,  until  after  one  month  the  oats  were  replaced 
by  corn.     The  horses  weighed  on  an  average  1194.1  pounds  at 
the  beginning  of  the  experiment,  and  at  the  end,  four  months 
later,  1219.8  pounds.     They  were  in  good  flesh  and  had  grown 
fat,  although  they  had  worked  hard  during  this  time.     It  was 
found,  however,  that  they  were  less  spirited  and  seemed  to  lose  in 
energy  when  more  than  nine  pounds  of  oats  were  replaced  by 
corn.     The  conclusions  were  that  a  mixture  of  6.6  pounds  of 
corn  and  12.1  pounds  of  oats  will  prove  most  satisfactory  for  work 
horses,  the  ratio  varying  in  each  case  according  to  the  tempera- 
ment of  the  animal.     Twenty-five  other  horses  doing  'bus  service 
were  fed  11  pounds  of  oats  and  6.6  pounds  of  corn,  after  a  longer 
transition  period,  with  hay  and  straw  as  before,  and  after  six 
months  equally  favorable  results  were  obtained.     All  horses  of  the 
company  were  fed  in  this  manner  during  1876  and  afterwards. 
They  maintained  their  weight,  and  according  to  the  records  of  the 
company  did  more  work  in  1876  than  in  1875  on  the  oat  ration. 
"  Compared  with  the  time  when  only  oats  were  fed,  they  are 
more  calm  at  the  present  and  lack  the  former  abundance  of 
vivacity;  but  on  the  other  hand,  work  as  well  and  as  rapidly  as 
before."     The  company  saved  $9.26  per  horse  during  1876  by  the 
partial  substitution  of  corn  for  oats. 

469.  Muntz's  experiments. —  In  1881,  Muntz  conducted  experi- 
ments with  horses  belonging  to  the  Paris  Omnibus  Company, 2 
the  first  of  which  was  with  362  horses  fed  9.5  pounds  oats,  6.7 
pounds  corn,  2.1  pounds  beans,  1.1  pounds  bran,  10.4  pounds 
hay  and  11.4  pounds  straw  daily.     The  average  weight  of  the 

1  Journ.  de  1'Agr.  1877,  p.  127;  Biederm.  Centralbl.  1877,  p.  255. 

2  Recueil.  de  Med.  Veter.,  Feb.  1880;  Biederm.  Centralbl.  1881,  p.  767. 


Feeds  for  the  Horse.  299 

horses  remained  the  same  during  the  experiment  ;  the  amount  of 
work  done  did  not  change,  showing  that  the  ration  met  the  re- 
quirements of  the  animals.  In  the  second  series  more  corn  and 
less  oats  were  fed,  the  ration  being  6.8  pounds  oats,  9.7  pounds 
corn,  3.3  pounds  beans,  .9  pounds  bran,  6.6  pounds  hay  and  13.2 
pounds  straw.  The  animals  gained  in  weight  on  this  ration,  the 
work  remaining  the  same  as  before. 

According  to  the  experience  gained  by  the  company,  corn  may 
be  best  fed  crushed  to  horses.  It  was  found  most  advantageous 
to  grind  the  corn  with  the  cobs  left  in.  Corn  and  cob  meal  is 
considered  a  better  feed  than  pure  corn  meal  on  account  of  its 
higher  content  of  cellulose,  which  renders  it  more  like  oats. 
Thirty  per  cent,  of  an  oat  ration  may  be  replaced  by  corn  and 
cob  meal.  Similar  reports  as  to  the  availability  of  corn  for 
horse  feeding  are  published  in  regard  to  the  Berlin  Street  Car 
Company, 1  the  Berlin  mail-horse  stables, 2  and  the  New  York 
Omnibus  Company. 3 

At  the  Utah  Station, 4  Sanborn  found  that  horses  fed  corn  and 
timothy  did  as  well  as  those  fed  oats,  clover  and  timothy  hay. 
Mills, 5  at  the  same  Station,  found  that  corn  sustained  the  weight 
of  horses  better  than  oats. 

470.  An  adverse  report  on  corn  feeding. —  It  is  stated  6  that  the 
stockholders  of  the  London  Omnibus  Company  objected  to  the 
intensive  feeding  of  corn  to  the  horses  of  the  company,  "  because 
the  mortality  had  increased  with  the  extensive  feeding  of  corn  and 
the  horses  seem  to  wear  out  much  sooner. "  The  horses  fattened 
by  the  corn  feeding,  but  the  muscular  system  was  not  kept  strong, 
and  the  nervous  force  of  the  animals  decreased,  as  a  result  of 
which  the  veterinarian  was  oftener  consulted  than  before  the  ex- 
tensive use  of  corn  began.  Similar  experiences  are  reported  in 
the  case  of  the  street- car  horses  of  Berlin. 7 


*Nordd.  Landw.  1881,  p.  141;  Biederm.  Centralbl.  1881.  p.  768. 

*  Ldw.  Blatt.  f.  Oldenburg,  1880,  p.  180. 

3  Thur.  Ldw.  Zeit.  1880,  p.  161.  See  also  the  exhaustive  report  on  the 
subject  by  Bruckmiiller  on  experiments  conducted  with  army  horses 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Austrian  government,  Oest.  Viertelj.  f.  Wiss. 
Vet.  kunde,  49  (1878),  p.  1;  Biederm.  Centralbl.  1878.  p.  470. 

*  Bui.  30.  »  Bui.  36. 

6  Fuhling's  Landw.  Zeitung,  39,  1890,  p.  63. 

7  Jahrsb.  Agrl.  Ch.,  1890,  p.  641. 


300 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


471.  Kloepfer's  conclusions  concerning   corn. — Dr.  Kloepfer l 
draws  the  following  conclusions  from  investigations  conducted  bj 
himself  and  others  concerning  the  value  of  Indian  corn  as  a  food 
for  horses:     "Corn  is  well  adapted  to  replace  oats,  since  the 
chemical  composition  of  both  cereals,  especially  as  regards  protein 
and  fat,  are  nearly  the  same.     The  whole  grain  feed  may  be  made 
up  of  corn  in  winter  time  and  three-fourths  of  it  in  summer  time. 
Five  pounds  of  corn  are  equivalent  to  six  pounds  of  oats.     The 
heaviest  feed  should  be  given  at  night.     The  change  from  oats  to 
corn  feed  should  occur  very  gradually,  the  transition  period  last- 
ing from  two  to  four  weeks  according  to  the  extent  to  which  the 
oats  are  to  be  fed  in  connection  with  the  corn.     New  corn  should 
not  be  fed  to  horses.     The  American  dent  varieties  of  corn  are  the 
best  adapted  to  horse  feeding. " 

472.  Feeds  rich  in  protein  compared  with  oats  for  colts. — Jordan, 
of  the  Maine  Station, 2  conducted  feeding  experiments  with  colts 
in  which  oats  were  fed  against  a  mixture  of  other  concentrates, 
such  as  peas  and  wheat  middlings,  in  the  first  trial,  and  gluten 
meal,  linseed  meal  and  middlings  in  the  second  trial.     In  the  first 
trial,  which  lasted  137  days,  oats  when  fed  to  three  grade  Per- 
cheron  colts,  9, 16  and  18  months  old,  produced  less  growth  than  an 
«qual  weight  of  a  mixture  of  peas  and  middlings,  the  relation  of 
growth  made  being  as  100  :  111.     In  the  second  trial,  two  Per- 
«heron  colts,  both  11  months  old,  were  fed  oats  against  middlings, 
gluten  meal  and  linseed  meal,  in  the  proportion  of  60  :  35  :  15. 
Ten  pounds  of  hay  were  fed  each  colt  daily  in  addition  to  the  grain. 
The  experiment  lasted  84  days,  the  results  being  as  follows: 

Feeding  mixed  grain  to  colts  in  opposition  to  oats  —  Maine  Station. 


Period  I. 
Grain 
mixture. 

Period  II. 
Oats. 

Weight  at 
beginning. 

Daily  gain  when  on  — 

Grain 
mixture. 

Oats. 

Colt   I  

Lbs. 

6 
5 

Lbs. 

7 
6 

Lbs. 

711 
602 

Lbs. 

1.51 
•1.16 

Lbs. 

.43 
.93 

Colt  II  

1  Biederm.  Centralbl.  1895,  p.  275. 
*  Repts.  1891-92. 


Feeds  for  the  Horse.  301 


In  both  experiments  a  greater  growth  was  obtained  from  the 
mixed  grains  with  both  animals.  (206)  These  trials  show  that 
when  oats  are  high  priced  other  concentrates  may  be  substituted 
for  them  in  colt  feeding  without  checking  growth.  Some  oats 
should  be  fed,  if  possible,  because  of  their  tonic  effect. 

473.  Peanut  meal  and  malt  sprouts. —  Eusche  l  gives  results  of 
experiments  showing  that  peanut  meal  and  malt  sprouts  may  be 
used  with  advantage  as  a  feed  for  foals  in  place  of  oats. 

474.  Cocoanut  meal. —  The  French  war  department  investi- 
gated the  value  of  cocoanut  meal  for  horses. 2     Ten  army  horses 
were  fed  cocoanut  meal  for  four  weeks  in  place  of  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  oats  in  the  ordinary  ration.     Five  horses  receiving  the 
ordinary  oat  ration  were  included  in  the  experiment  and  given 
the  same  work  as  the  others.     They  were  exercised  only  a  little 
during  the  first  period,  January  12  to  30,  viz.,  8  to  9  miles.    They 
were  worked  harder  for  the  next  two  weeks,  January  31  to  Feb- 
ruary 12,  15-17.5  miles.     Weighings  were  taken  before  and  after 
the  change  was  made  with  averages  as  follows: 

Cocoanut-meal  ration.  Ordinary  ration. 
Pounds.  Pounds. 

January   12 963.4  986.4 

January   31 977.5  992.9 

February  12 970.9  983.2 

The  results  proved  that  cocoanut  meal  was  equal  and  even 
superior  to  the  same  weight  of  oats.  According  to  French  prices 
of  feeding  stuffs,  a  substitution  as  in  the  above  experiment  would 
bring  about  a  reduction  in  the  cost  of  keeping  army  horses  of 
$10  each  per  year.  (223) 

475.  Compounding  rations  for  work  horses. —  At  the  New  Jersey 
Station, 8  Yoorhees,  studying  to  compound  rations  which  should 
be  low  in  cost  but  effective,  conducted  trials  with  two  lots  of  two 
horses  each,  the  work  being  as  near  uniform  for  each  lot  as  could 
be  arranged.     In  these  trials  corn  meal  and  dried  brewers7  grains 
furnished  the  concentrates  for  one  ration,  while  for  the  other  corn 

*  Landw.  25,  1889,  p.  361;  Jahrsb.  Agrl.  Ch.  1889.  p.  621. 

*  Milch  Zeit.  1883,  p.  517. 
8  Kept.  1893. 


302 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


meal,  wheat  bran  and  oil  meal  were  used.     The  trial  continued 
six  months  with  the  results  reported  in  the  tables  below: 

Feeding  low-priced  rations  to  horses  —  New  Jersey  Station. 
Lot  I.  Ration:  Dried  brewers'  grains  and  corn  meal. 


Hay. 

Corn 
meal. 

Dried 

brewers' 
grains. 

Average 
weight. 

Cost  of 
ration. 

Horse  1  

Lbs. 
8  0 

Lbs. 
6.5 

Lbs. 
6.5 

Lbs. 
1,110 

Cents. 
19  8 

Horse  2 

8  0 

6  2 

5  8 

1,191 

18  9 

Lot  II.  Ration:  Corn  meal,  wheat  bran  and  oil  meal. 


Hay. 

Corn 
meal. 

Wheat 
bran. 

Oil 

meal. 

Average 
live 
weight. 

Cost  of 
ration. 

Horse  3  

Lbs. 
8  0 

Lbs. 
6  2 

Lbs. 
5.0 

Lbs. 
1  4 

Lbs. 
1,127 

Cents. 

20  8 

Horse  4  

8  0 

6.9 

5  8 

1.7 

1,226 

22.3 

The  horses  held  their  own  in  weight,  and  appeared  in  satis- 
factory condition  throughout  the  whole  period.  The  prices  al- 
lowed for  feed  in  the  above  tables  are  as  follows:  Timothy  hay, 
$18;  wheat  bran,  $17.50;  corn  meal,  $22;  dried  brewers'  grains, 
417;  linseed  meal,  $29.  At  these  prices  the  cost  of  the  rations 
was  lowest  where  dried  brewers'  grains  were  used,  and  highest 
where  wheat  bran  and  oil  meal  were  fed.  A  gardener  living  near 
the  Station,  guided  by  its  teachings,  fed  a  ration  similar  to  No.  1 
with  success,  and  effected  a  saving  in  his  feed  bills  for  the  year 
of  about  $150  over  previous  cost  under  the  customary  feeding  of 
the  vicinity.  Yoorhees  concludes:  "  That  the  kind  and  quality 
of  specific  nutrients  contained  in  feeds,  and  not  their  names, 
should  guide  in  the  preparation  of  rations.  That  while  oats  are 
an  excellent  feed,  it  is  not  alone  because  they  are  oats,  but 
because  of  the  amount  and  proportion  of  the  more  valuable 
nutrients,  fat  and  protein,  contained  in  them.  That  dried  brew- 
ers' grains  are  a  wholesome,  nutritious  and  palatable  horse  feed, 
and  at  present  prices  they  may  be  substituted  for  oats  and  a  de- 
cided saving  made  in  the  cost  of  the  ration.'7  (183) 


Feeds  for  the  Horse.  303 

476.  Relative  merits  of  the  grains. —  Settegast l  discusses  the 
relative  value  of  grain  feeds  for  horses  as  follows:  "  Among  all 
cereals,  oats  are  the  best  adapted  to  horse  feeding;  their  place  can 
hardly  be  filled  in  colt  raising.    In  the  ration  for  full-grown  horses, 
rye  and  barley  may  to  some  extent  be  substituted  for  oats.     A  par- 
tial substitution  of  the  seeds  of  legumes  (beans,  peas,  vetches)  for 
oats  to  the  extent  of  about  one-third  the  concentrates  has  been 
practiced  in  cases  of  continued  heavy  team  work.     The  experi- 
ence of  late  years  has  further  shown  that  corn  may  be  considered 
as  approximating  oats  in  value  for  work  horses.     ExperimentvS 
have  shown  that  a  ration  of  17  pounds  of  corn  and  10  pounds 
of  straw  is  profitable  for  omnibus  horses.     In  periods  of  rest  the 
concentrates  may  advantageously  be  decreased  one-half  with  rid- 
ing and  work  horses. ' ' 

477.  Dried  and  soaked  grain. — Wolff  2  found  that  in  the  case  of 
healthy  horses  with  good  teeth,  the  utilization  of  beans  and  corn 
remained  about  the  same  whether  fed  whole  and  in  dry  condition, 
or  fed  after  having  been  previously  soaked  in  water  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  care  being  taken  in  the  latter  case  to  guard  against 
loss  of  nutrients.   (375) 

478.  Timothy  hay. —  Although  chemical  analysis  shows  timothy 
hay  not  particularly  rich  in  digestible  nutrients,  nevertheless 
it  is  the  standard  in  its  class  throughout  the  northeastern  United 
States.     One  reason  for  its  popularity  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is 
easily  distinguished  from  hay  of  all  other  grasses,  and  both  the 
farmer  who  grows  it  and  the  horseman  who  feeds  it  feel  no  un- 
certainty as  to  its  identity  or  quality.     Its  freedom  from  dust 
•commends  good  timothy  hay  as  a  horse  feed,  and  it  is  an  excellent 
roughage  for  horses,   whose  sustenance  comes  mostly  from  the 
grain  they  receive.   (268) 

479.  Clover  hay. —  Clover  hay  is  generally  so  loaded  with  dust 
that  horsemen  have  come  to  regard  it  with  disfavor  under  all 
circumstances.     This  prej udice  should  be  overcome,  for  well-made 
clover  hay  will  serve  a  valuable  purpose  in  the  stable  in  many 
instances.     Its  relatively  high  content  of  protein  makes  it  more 
nearly  a  balanced  ration  in  itself,  but  the  high  proportion  of  in- 

1  Thierzucht,  II,  110. 

2  Landw.  Jahrb.  16,  1887,  Sup.  Ill,  p.  21. 


304  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

digestible  matter  necessitates  the  consumption  of  too  large  a 
quantity  to  permit  its  extensive  use  with  horses  in  active  service. 
For  growing  colts  and  idle  horses,  bright,  clean  clover  hay  may 
often  be  fed  with  marked  economy.  With  corn  fodder  or  bright 
straw  it  may  constitute  the  sole  roughage  for  such  animals. 

480.  Fodder  corn  and  stover. —  Fodder  corn,  grown  so  thickly 
as  to  permit  of  only  small  " nubbins"  forming,  and  cured  in  the 
shock  into  a  bright,  dust-free  forage,  is  one  of  the  best  articles 
available  for  roughage  in  horse  feeding.     While  the  stalk  and 
husk  will  be  left  uneaten,  the  leaves  disappear  with  a  relish 
when  offered  to  horses  under  any  conditions.     Not  only  are 
corn  leaves  usually  quite  free  from  dust,  but, they  are  palatable 
and  full  of  nutriment.     For  stallions,  brood  mares,  idle  horses 
and  growing  colts,  corn  forage  of  good  quality  will  be  found  an 
economical  substitute  for  timothy  hay.     When  the  tonnage  of  a 
field  of  fodder  corn  is  compared  with  the  yield  of  timothy  hay  from 
a  like  area,  it  is  apparent  that  the  forage  of  the  corn  plant  should 
hold  a  prominent  place  with  horsemen  who  seek  economy  while 
at  the  same  time  wishing  to  supply  a  palatable,  nutritious  rough- 
age.    See  Chapter  X. 

481.  Straw. —  Some  straw  can  always  be  fed  to  horses,   the 
amount  varying  with  the  work  and  the  purpose  for  which  the 
animal  is  used.     Idle  horses,  having  ample  time  for  masticating 
and  digesting  their  feed,  can  subsist  almost  wholly  on  good  bright 
straw;  hard- worked  animals  and  those  required  to  move  rapidly 
can  make  use  of  only  a  little, —  the  feeder  must  judge  from  the 
conditions  how  much  to  supply.     It  is  a  notable  fact  that  many 
horses  are  fed  costly  hay  for  roughage  when  cheaper  straw  or 
fodder  corn  would  prove  equally  satisfactory.     In  relative  value 
for  horse  feeding,  the  straws  rank  in  the  following  order:     Oat, 
barley,  wheat,  rye,  the  last  named  being  of  slight  utility. 

482.  Millet  hay  injurious  to  horses. —  Hinebajjch,  veterinarian 
of  the  North  Dakota  Station, l  reports  that  during  the  winter  of 
1891-92  an  ailment  passing  under  the  name  of  the  "  millet  dis- 
ease" prevailed  in  North  Dakota,  about  one  animal  in  every  ten 
so  affected  dying.     It  was  called  the  millet  disease  because  from 
ninety-five  to  ninety-eight  animals  out  of  every  hundred  affected 

7. 


Feeds  for  the  Horse.  305 

had  previously  been  fed  millet.  Experiments  were  made  in 
feeding  millet  hay  to  a  number  of  horses  for  the  purpose  of 
studying  its  effect.  The  following  statement  relative  to  one 
test  seems  quite  conclusive':1  "  By  feeding  her  (a  mare)  millet 
(hay)  for  about  three  months,  she  would  become  so  lame  in  the 
joints  of  the  hind  legs  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  her  to 
walk,  and  on  discontinuing  the  feeding  of  millet  she  would  grad- 
ually recover,  until  at  the  end  of  three  or  four  months  she  would 
again  be  in  normal  condition.  As  soon  as  that  condition  was 
reached,  would  again  feed  millet  until  the  mare  was  in  such  a 
condition  that  she  could  scarcely  stand,  then  again  quit  feeding 
millet.  We  have  alternated  with  millet  and  other  hay,  produc- 
ing the  conditions  referred  to  at  will,  for  nearly  two  years.  In 
the  meantime  the  horse  has  suffered  in  condition  and  does  not  at 
all  resemble  her  former  self.  She  is  valueless  as  far  as  work  is 
concerned,  and  is  only  kept  for  experimental  purposes.  We  are 
able  at  any  time  to  demonstrate  the  effect  from  feeding  millet,  by 
allowing  her  to  have  millet  exclusively  as  coarse  food  for  a  por- 
tion of  two  months. "  Letters  sent  to  veterinarians,  farmers  and 
others  in  the  state  brought  replies  which  showed  that  ill  results 
had  quite  generally  been  observed  from  the  use  of  millet,  mani- 
fested usually  by  increased  action  of  the  kidneys.  The  bulletin  con- 
cludes: "Our  experiments  have  thoroughly  demonstrated  that 
millet,  when  used  entirely  as  a  coarse  food,  is  injurious  to  horses: 
First,  in  producing  an  increased  action  of  the  kidneys.  Second, 
in  causing  lameness  and  swelling  of  the  joints.  Third,  in  produc- 
ing infusion  of  blood  into  the  joints.  Fourth,  in  destroying  the 
texture  of  the  bone,  rendering  it  softer  and  less  tenacious,  so  that 
traction  causes  the  ligaments  and  muscles  to  be  torn  loose. " 

It  is  remarkable  that  millet,  one  of  the  oldest  known  plants, 
and  one  that  is  used  so  extensively  in  various  countries,  should 
fall  under  this  serious  charge.  Possibly  hay  from  the  plant  is 
injurious  in  some  districts  while  harmless  elsewhere,  or  in  some 
years  it  may  prove  deleterious  while  usually  safe  for  feeding. 
Having  been  put  on  his  guard,  the  horseman  will  use  millet  with 
caution,  awaiting  further  reports  from  the  investigators.  It  should 

*  Bui.  26,  N.  Dak.  Sta. 
20 


306  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

be  noted  that  in  the  cases  where  trouble  arose  millet  hay  was  used 
exclusively  for  roughage.  Ill  effects  can  probably  be  avoided  by 
using  this  hay  in  limited  quantity  for  roughage  and  not  continu- 
ously. Nothing  unfavorable  to  the  use  of  millet  hay  for  cattle  or 
sheep  feeding  has  been  reported.  (272) 

483.  Boussingault's  experiments  with  roots. —  Instigated  by  the 
terrible  drought  of  1840,  Boussingault  of  France  studied  the  value 
of  roots  and  tubers  in  rations  for  horses  on  his  farm  at  Bechel- 
bronn. l     Eight  horses,  separated  into  two  groups  of  four  each, 
were  used  in  the  following  experiments:     The  ordinary  ration  for 
work  horses  at  his  farm,  which  maintained  them  in  excellent  con- 
dition, was,  per  head  per  day,  22  pounds  of  hay,  5.5  pounds  of 
straw,  and  7.25  pounds  of  oats.     This  ration  was  fed  in  all  the 
experiments  with  the  changes  noted. 

484.  Steamed  potatoes. —  In  the  first  experiment  half  the  hay 
was  replaced  by  lightly-steamed  potatoes  in  the  proportion  of  280 
pounds  of  potatoes  to  100  pounds  of  hay,  the  theoretical  equiva- 
lent of  potatoes  in  hay  value.   (138)     The  potatoes  were  mashed 
and  mixed  with  cut  straw  and  put  into  the  manger  when  cold. 
The  animals  were  weighed  after  having  been  on  this  feed  a  few 
days,  and  again  after  twenty-four  days.     The  average  weight  per 
horse  was:     First  weighing,  1,134.9  pounds;  second  weighing, 
1,111  pounds;  average  loss  per  horse  during  twenty-four  days,  23.9 
pounds.     The  allowance  of  30. 8  pounds  of  steamed  potatoes  could 
not  then,  under  the  conditions,  replace  the  11  pounds  of  hay. 
The  weather  was  very  inclement  during  the  experiment,  and  the 
teams  were  worked  hard  at  ordinary  fall  farm  work.   (658) 

485.  Potatoes  substituted  for  hay. —  This  experiment,  a  dupli- 
cate of  that  just  reported,  was  conducted  under  more  favorable 
conditions  for  63  days.     The  horses  gained  10.1  pounds  each  on 
an  average  during  this  time,  30.8  pounds  of  potatoes  proving  fully 
equal  to  11  pounds  of  hay.     Boussingault  concludes  that  the  ex- 
periment shows  that  the  comparative  value  of  hay  and  potatoes 
for  horses  is  not  far  from  100  :  280. 

486.  Hay  and  potatoes. —  Eleven  pounds  of  hay  in  the  usual  al- 
lowance were  replaced  by  30.8  pounds  of  potatoes,  and  the  whole 
of  the  oats  and  straw  by  15.4  pounds  of  hay,  making  the  ration 

1  llurul  Economy,  p.  400. 


Feeds  for  tJie  Horse. 


307 


fed:  Hay,  26.6  pounds;  potatoes,  30.8  pounds.  Boussingault  re- 
fers to  the  experiment  as  follows:1  "  This  was  a  ration  which  it 
was  the  more  interesting  to  try,  from  the  circumstances  of  Profes- 
sor Liebig2  having  come  to  the  conclusion,  from  certain  theoret- 
ical views,  that  it  must  be  impossible  to  keep  horses  in  health  and 
strength  upon  hay  and  potatoes  exclusively."  The  experiment 
was  continued  a  fortnight  with  the  following  results: 


Group 
No.  1. 

Group 
No.  2. 

Both 
groups. 

Mean  weight 
per  horse. 

First  weighing  

Lbs. 
4,620 

Lbs. 
4,312 

Lbs. 
8  932 

Lbs. 
1,116 

Second,  weighing  

4,675 

4,697 

9,372 

1,171 

Gain  in  fourteen  davs  

55 

385 

440 

55 

Undoubtedly  a  large  part  of  the  reported  gain  was  from  the  in- 
creased weight  of  the  contents  of  the  alimentary  tract,  but  it  was 
apparent  that  the  ration  was  sufficient  to  nourish  the  horses.  (316, 
866,  897) 

487.  Carrot. —  The  records  show  only  a  single  trial  with  this 
root,  by  Boussingault, 3  reported  as  follows:  "On  one  occasion  at 
the  stable  of  Bechelbronn,  when  the  potato  in  one  of  our  rations 
was  replaced  by  an  equal  weight  of  carrots,  the  effect  was  highly 
disadvantageous,  and  even  in  following  the  theoretical  equivalent 
of  the  carrot  (350  pounds   carrots  equal   100  pounds  of  good 
meadow  hay,  calculated  from  chemical  analysis),  we  had  still  no 
reason  to  be  perfectly  satisfied."     The  carrot  is  not  utilized  in 
this  country  by  horsemen  for  furnishing  nutriment,  but  rather  for 
satisfying  the  craving  of  the  horse  for  succulent  feed  and  for 
variety.     When  given  with  that  end  in  view  its  worth  no  doubt 
far  exceeds  that  measured  by  the  nutrients  contained.   (317) 

488.  Artichoke. —  This  tuber  is  held  by  Boussingault  4  to  be  an 
excellent  food  for  the  horse.     It  is  greedily  eaten  and  horses 
thrive  on  it.     In  an  experiment  by  this  investigator,  thirty  pounds 
of  sliced  artichokes  were  substituted  for  half  the  hay  in  the  ration. 

1  Loc.  cit.,  p.  402. 

2  Agricultural  Chemistry. 

3  Loc.  cit.  4  Loc.  cit. 


308 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Having  become  accustomed  to  this  feed  the  horses  were  weighed, 
and  again  when  they  had  been  on  the  feed  for  eleven  days.  The 
average  weight  per  horse  was:  first  weighing,  1,113  pounds;  second 
weighing,  1,114  pounds, — a  gain  in  eleven  days  of  one  pound  per 
head.  (323,868) 

489.  Ruta-baga  (Swede)  turnip. —  Boussingault  fed  31  pounds 
of  Swede  turnips  in  place  of  part  of  the  hay  in  the  ration.     The 
horses  lost  52.8  pounds  each  in  nine  days,  showing  that  the  cal- 
culated ration  was  too  low.     In  another  experiment  with  the 
same  horses  where  Swedes  were  introduced  in  the  ratio  of  400  : 100 
of  hay,  the  horses  kept  their  weight  at  the  point  to  which  it  had 
fallen,  but  did  not  gain. 

II.   Concerning  Rations  for  Horses. 

490.  Rations  fed  to  Paris  cab  horses. —  The  experiments  by 
Grandeau  and  Leclerc,   the  results  of  which  are  summarized 
in  another  place,  (442-8)   were  made  with   horses  belonging 
to  the  Paris  Cab  Company.     The  following  table  gives  the  daily 
standard  rations  of  the  horses  used  by  the  company  at  the  time 
the  experimental  maintenance  rations  were  fed,   and  the  one 
finally  adopted  as  best  for  work.     These  horses  weighed  from  800 
to  900  pounds  each.     The  data,  with  description  of  the  same,  are 
taken  from  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  essay  on  feeding  farm  animals.1 

Rations  fed  to  horses  of  the  Paris  Cab  Company  —  Lawes  and  Gilbert. 


Ration. 

Beans. 

Oats. 

Corn. 

Corn 
cake. 

Hay. 

Straw. 

Total 
food. 

Total 
dry 
matter 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Previously  used  

1.5 

7.2 

5.3 

1.1 

3.9 

2.1 

21.1 

18.1 

Maintenance,  No.  1. 

.9 

4.3 

3.2 

.6 

2.3 

1.3 

12.6 

10.9 

Maintenance,  No.  2. 
Finally  adopted  

.8 
1.4 

3.9 
6.5 

2.9 

4.8 

.6 
1.0 

2.1 
3.5 

1.1 

1.8 

11.4 
19.0 

9.8 
16.3 

"  It  seems  that  the  system  of  the  establishment  was  to  work  the 
horses  on  alternate  days,  and  to  give  less  hay,  straw  and  corn,  but 
more  oats  and  beans,  though  less  total  food,  on  the  days  of  work. 
The  figures  in  the  top  line,  representing  the  '  Previous ;  ration, 

1  Jour.  Boy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1895,  p.  140. 


Feeds  for  the  Horse. 


309 


are  in  each  case  the  mean  of  two  days7  rations:  The  '  Mainte- 
nance ration,  No.  1,'  was  fixed  at  three-fifths  of  the  '  Previous7 
ration;  but,  as  the  animals  gained  in  weight,  l  Maintenance 
ration,  No.  2,7  which  was  one-tenth  less  than  No.  1,  was  subse- 
quently adopted.  Even  then  the  horses  rather  gained  in  weight. 
Finally,  as  it  was  considered  that  the  standard  or  ' Previous7 
ration  was  too  high,  the  ration  for  work,  as  given  in  the  bottom 
line  of  the  table,  which  is  one  and  one-half  times  as  much  as 
f  Maintenance  ration,  No.  I,7  and  about  one-tenth  less  than  the 
' Previous7  ration,  was  adopted.  It  is,  however,  said  that 
under  the  new  regime  the  horses  were  somewhat  underfed,  but 
whether  the  reduced  ration  is  still  maintained  we  are  not  aware. 
It  will  be  observed  that  the  proportion  of  beans  fed  was  very 
small  compared  to  that  of  cereals.  Still,  it  will  be  seen  presently 
that  the  proportion  was  very  considerably  higher  than  in  the  case 
of  the  omnibus  horses  of  Paris.77 

491.  Rations  fed  to  Paris  omnibus  horses. —  The  following  table 
presents  the  average  ration  of  the  horses  belonging  to  the  Paris 
Omnibus  Company  for  six  years  (1879-80  and  1884-87  inclusive). 
The  figures  are  calculated  from  the  results  given  in  the  annual 
reports  of  the  general  secretary  of  the  company,  and  are  furnished 
by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  in  the  paper  mentioned. l  The  average 
number  of  horses  belonging  to  the  company  was  about  13,000, 
and  their  average  weight  was  1,240  pounds. 

Average  rations  fed  to  horses  of  the  Paris  Omnibiw  Company  dur- 
ing six  years  —  Lawes  and  Gilbert. 


Year. 

Beans. 

Oats. 

Corn. 

Hay. 

Straw. 

Bran, 
etc. 

Total 
food. 

Total  dry 
matter. 

1879  

Lbs. 
1  4 

Lbs. 
10  1 

Lbs. 
6  9 

Lbs. 
9  1 

Lbs. 
10  5 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
37.8 

Lbs. 
32  2 

1880  

1  4 

8  8 

8  3 

7.8 

11.1 

37  4 

31  8 

1884 

1  4 

8  7 

8  5 

8  5 

8  7 

9 

36  7 

31  3 

1885     .     . 

9 

6  2 

11  3 

8  5 

8  4 

8 

36  1 

30  8 

1886  

1 

5  5 

13  0 

8  6 

7  3 

5 

35  0 

30  0 

1887  

8  1 

10  8 

8.7 

8  2 

35  8 

30  5 

"  It  will  be  seen  that  the  actual  amount  of  dry  matter  supplied 
per  head  per  day  is  nearly  twice  as  much  as  in  the  case  of  the 
*  Loc.  cit. 


310  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

cab  horses  previously  given;  that  is,  much  more  in  proportion  to 
a  given  live  weight.  It  will  be  further  seen  that  the  proportion 
of  beans  to  cereal  grains  is  much  less  than  in  the  case  of  the  cab 
horses,  and  was  reduced  to  a  very  small  quantity  in  the  later 
years.  In  fact,  the  grain  given  consisted  almost  exclusively  of 
oats  and  corn,  that  of  the  oats  being  reduced  but  that  of  the  corn 
in  a  greater  degree  increased,  in  later  years,  coincidently  with 
the  reduction  in  the  amount  of  beans.  On  the  occasion  of  a  visit 
of  one  of  us  to  the  general  secretary  in  1887,  it  was  suggested  to 
him  that  the  supply  of  the  highly  nitrogenous  leguminous  seeds 
might  be  mainly,  if  not  exclusively,  reserved  for  old  or  over- 
worked horses;  and  he  subsequently  informed  us  that  he  had 
found  their  use  in  such  cases  advantageous.77 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

FEED  AND  CARE  OF  THE  HOUSE. 

492.  The  range  of  feeding  stuffs  for  horses. —  At  any  point  of 
observation  we  find  the  ration  for  the  horse  usually  composed  of 
only  one  or  two  kinds  of  grain  and  the  same  limited  number  of 
coarse  dry  fodders,  the  feeder  insisting  that  these  are  practically 
all  that  can  be  given  this  animal  with  safety  and  economy.  We 
need  not  travel  far,  however,  to  find  the  list  more  or  less  changed, 
sometimes  entirely  so,  yet  with  the  same  claim  as  to  superiority 
or  necessity  as  before.  In  the  Northern  states  the  almost  uni- 
versal feeds  for  the  horse  are  timothy  hay  and  oats;  in  the  South, 
Indian  corn  serves  mainly  for  tire  concentrates,  with  dried  corn 
leaves  for  roughage.  On  the  Pacific  coast,  crushed  barley  is  the 
common  grain,  while  the  hay  comes  from  the  wild  oat,  the  barley 
or  wheat  plant.  Passing  to  other  countries,  we  find  an  interest- 
ing array  of  articles  in  the  dietary  of  the  horse,  though  still  no 
large  number  is  in  use  in  any  one  locality.  In  London1  we 
read:  "In  some  sterile  countries,  horses  are  forced  to  subsist  on 
dried  fish,  and  even  vegetable  mould;  in  Arabia,  on  milk,  flesh 
balls,  eggs,  broth,  etc.  In  Persia,  barley  is  a  common  food  for 
good  horses.  In  some  parts  of  India,  salt,  pepper  and  other  spices 
are  made  up  into  balls,  as  big  as  billiard  balls,  with  flour  and 
butter,  and  thrust  down  the  animal's  throat.  .  .  .  Meat  broth 
(especially  sheep's  head)  is  also  given  to  horses.  .  ,  »  In 
Bengal,  a  vetch,  something  like  the  tare,  is  used.  On  the  western 
side  of  India,  a  sort  of  pigeon  pea,  called  gram,  is  the  usual  foodj 
with  grass  in  the  season,  and  hay  all  the  year.  Indian  corn  or 
rice  is,  I  think,  seldom  if  ever  given  to  horses  in  India  as  ordinary 
food.  In  the  West  Indies  they  are  fed  on  maize,  Guinea  corn, 
and  sugar-cane  tops;  and,  in  some  instances,  on  the  sugar  itself,  in 

1  Encyclopaedia  of  Agriculture,  1866:  Article,  Feeding  of  Horses. 


312  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

the  form  of  molasses.  In  France,  Spain  and  Italy,  besides  the 
grasses,  the  leaves  of  limes,  vines,  the  tops  of  acacia,  the  seeds  of 
the  carob  tree,  etc.,  are  used." 

493.  Successful  horse  feeding  a  skilled  art. — With  each  feeder 
using  a  limited  variety  of  feeding  stuffs  one  might  at  first  suppose 
that  the  successful  management  of  the  horse,  so  far  as  feeding  is 
concerned,  is  a  simple  matter,  when  in  reality  it  is  the  very  op- 
posite. Given  two  grooms  with  similar  conditions  as  to  horses 
to  be  cared  for,  work  performed,  and  feed  bins  to  draw  from.  In 
one  case  the  team  emerges  from  the  stable  with  an  action  and 
Btyle  which  at  once  announces  it  in  the  best  of  condition;  in  the 
other  case,  the  lagging  step,  dull  eye  and  rough  coat  advertise 
better  than  words  the  lack  of  judgment  in  feeding  and  manage- 
ment. In  the  second  case  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  ani- 
mals has  not  necessarily  been  brought  about  by  any  saving  at  the 
feed  bin  and  hay  mow;  indeed,  very  frequently  the  poorer  groom 
makes  the  more  frequent  request  for  supplies.  The  indescrib- 
able qualities  which,  rightly  commingled,  mark  the  good  feeder 
cannot  be  acquired  from  lectures  nor  from  books,  but  must,  in  a 
large  measure,  be  born  in  the  horseman.  Study  and  observation 
will  add  to  the  ability  of  the  feeder,  but  all  that  may  be  written 
will  not  make  one  an  adept,  nor  cover  his  defects,  if  he  does  not 
take  to  the  work  naturally.  No  one  can  study  the  practices  of 
successful  horsemen  without  becoming  strongly  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  there  are  several  ways  of  reaching  the  desired  end  of 
high  finish  and  fine  action  with  the  horse.  With  the  pig  we  can 
calculate  about  how  much  increase  in  weight  is  returned  from  a 
pound  of  corn.  The  horse  is  on  a  higher  plane,  and  weight  alone  is 
not  the  only  or  even  the  main  object  in  view;  nerve  and  action  are 
qualities  which  count  for  more  than  mere  avoirdupois.  The  skill 
of  the  *  *  artist '  >  horse  feeder  enters  into  the  very  life  of  the  creature 
he  manages  along  with  the  food  he  supplies.  If  the  reader  finds 
the  counsel  given  in  regard  to  feed  and  management  not  entirely 
to  his  satisfaction,  let  him  remember  that  we  have  chosen  that 
course  which  seems  on  the  whole  the  most  rational  and  generally 
applicable,  conceding  that  good  results  may  also  be  obtained  by 
following  other  systems. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  313 

494.  The  foal. —  It  is  of  the  highest  importance  in  horse  rearing 
that  the  young  start  life  in  full  health  and  vigor,  and  to  this  end 
the  foal  should  very  soon  after  birth  take  a  good  draught  of  the 
colostrum  or  first  milk  of  the  dam.  Colostrum  possesses  purga- 
tive properties  which  tend  to  discharge  from  the  alimentary  tract 
the  faecal  matters  collected  therein  during  foetal  life.  If  this 
result  is  not  accomplished  naturally,  a  gentle  purgative  of  castor 
oil  should  be  administered.  With  the  bowels  cleared,  the  foal 
is  in  condition  to  utilize  the  more  natural  milk  of  the  dam  which 
follows,  gaining  strength  and  increasing  in  weight  from  the  start. 
There  are  several  dangers  to  the  life  of  the  young  foal  which 
should  be  carefully  guarded  against.  Some  dams,  more  fre- 
quently those  with  their  first  foal  and  those  hard  worked,  fail 
to  supply  the  proper  amount  of  nourishment,  and  the  young  lan- 
guish. In  such  cases  the  mare  should  be  provided  with  food 
which  will  stimulate  the  milk  flow;  good  pasture  grass  is  of  course 
the  best,  but  if  this  is  absent  concentrates  should  be  given  in  the 
shape  of  oats,  rolled  barley  or  wheat  bran,  with  an  equal  weight 
of  corn  or  corn  and  cob  meal.  Not  infrequently  the  foal  suffers 
from  an  over-supply  of  nourishment  or  because  the  milk  is  too 
rich,  or  from  both  combined,  and  the  indigestion  resulting  may 
terminate  in  diarrhoea.  In  such  cases  the  food  allowance  of  the 
dam  should  be  restricted  and  some  of  her  milk  drawn  by  the 
attendant,  remembering  always  that  the  last  milk  carries  the  most 
fat,  which  substance  is  usually  the  disturbing  element. 

After  foaling,  the  mare  should  be  confined  for  a  few  days,  her 
feed  being  simple  in  character  and  not  too  abundant;  with  favora- 
ble conditions,  at  the  end  of  a  week  she  should  be  turned  to  pasture, 
with  proper  protection  for  herself  and  foal  from  the  inclemencies 
of  the  weather.  Under  favorable  conditions  the  dam  and  foal 
will  shift  for  themselves,  but  watchfulness  should  never  cease 
in  noting  thrift  and  progress  and  checking  the  first  appearance 
of  ailment.  Diarrhoea  brought  on  by  over-feeding  or  exposure 
to  inclement  weather  is  a  common  trouble  and  should  be  checked 
at  once.  Parched  flour,  rice-meal  gruel  and  boiled  milk  are  all 
excellent  correctives  for  this  ailment.  Constipation,  the  other 
common  evil,  may  be  relieved  by  the  use  of  castor  oil  and  by 


314  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

injections  of  warm  water  to  which  soap  has  been  added.  In  all 
cases  of  derangement,  at  once  lessen  the  amount  of  food  for  both 
dam  and  foal,  since  nothing  aids  nature  more  at  such  times  than 
to  reduce  the  work  of  the  digestive  tract. 

495.  Feeding  the  foal   before  weaning. —  Horsemen  who  are 
anxious  to  see  the  foals  getting  on,  frequently  induce  them  when 
quite  young  to  take  nourishment  other  than  that  supplied  by  the 
dam,  the  supplementary  feeding  often  starting  two  months  from 
birth.     By  placing  the  feed  box  from  which  the  dam  eats  her  grain 
a  little  raised  from  the  ground,  the  foal  will  early  begin  nibbling 
from  the  mother's  supply  and  soon  acquire  a  taste  for  grain. 
This  habit  can  be  strengthened  in  no  better  way  than  that  de- 
scribed by  Splan, l  which  is  as  follows:    "  With  the  colts  all  out  to 
grass  and  doing  well,  it  is  time  to  separate  the  oldest  of  them  from 
the  younger  and  commence  feeding  them  grain,  which  is  done  in 
this  way:     Build  a  pen  in  some  suitable  place  which  is  the  most 
convenient,  making  it  high  enough  so  that  the  mare  will  not  try 
to  jump  it,  and  have  the  space  from  the  ground  to  the  bottom  rail 
or  board  sufficient  to  allow  the  foal  to  pass  under.     Put  in  a  handy 
gate  or  bars,  then  an  ample  feed  trough.     Lead  your  mares  and 
foals  singly  into  this  enclosure  and  let  them  eat  together  two  or 
three  times  and  they  will  soon  learn  where  the  food  is.     Take  out 
the  mares,  shut  up  the  gate,  leave  the  colts  in.     Keep  a  good  sup- 
ply of  oats  there,  and  you  will  find  the  foals  there  regularly  run- 
ning in  and  out  getting  their  rations.     To  induce  the  dam  to 
loiter  about  this  place,  keep  a  large  lump  of  rock  salt  near  it  and 
occasionally  a  mess  of  oats,  and  there  is  no  further  trouble.     In 
this  way,  at  weaning  time,  which  is  at  the  age  of  five  months,  the 
colts  have  learned  to  eat,  and  the  result  is  that  when  they  are 
taken  away  from  their  dams  they  do  not  miss  them  so  much.77 

496.  The  Palo  Alto  system. —  The  method  employed  on  the 
Stanford  farm  in  teaching  foals  to  eat,  studied  by  the  writer  in 
1892,  carries  with  it  also  handling  and  breaking  them  to  lead 
by  the  halter.     At  this  farm  each  mare  with  foal  is  kept  in 
a  separate  box-stall  at  night,  while  during  the  day  two  mares 
with  foals  occupy  for  a  time  the  same  paddock j  the  foals  thus 

1  Life  with  the  Trotters,  p.  424. 


Feed  and  Care  of  ths  Horse.  315 

thrown  together  become  companions,  their  friendship  being  very 
marked,  and  proving  beneficial  at  weaning  time.  In  teaching 
them  to  eat,  two  men  enter  the  paddock  each  with  a  pan  in 
which  are  some  dry  crushed  oats.  Each  foal  wears  a  halter;  over 
the  back  of  the  animal  a  quarter-inch  rope,  made  into  a  large 
loop,  is  passed,  this  loop  falling  to  the  hock  joints  and  passing 
up  along  each  side  of  the  body  to  the  withers,  whence  a  single 
cord  passes  through  a  ring  in  the  halter  so  as  to  be  held  by  the 
same  hand  that  holds  the  leading  strap.  With  rope  and  lead 
strap  in  one  hand  and  a  pan  of  crushed  oats  in  the  other,  the 
attendant  serves  the  foal  with  feed,  gently  inducing  it  to  move 
forward,  from  time  to  time,  by  pulling  on  the  halter  and  drawing 
on  the  rope  at  the  same  time;  the  loop  tightening  about  the  but- 
tocks impels  the  foal  forward,  preventing  all  tendency  to  pull  at  the 
halter  and  teaching  the  young  thing  that  when  the  groom  tightens 
on  the  lead  strap  it  is  to  move  ahead.  The  handling  of  two 
foals  at  the  same  time  when  companions,  and  while  still  with 
their  dams,  makes  each  more  fearless  and  less  restive  than  if  alone. 
In  a  short  time  the  foal  is  halter-broken,  and  can  be  led  about  the 
paddock  without  grain  being  held  before  it. 

497.  Weaning  the  foal. —  The  foal  is  weaned  when  five  or  six 
months  old.  The  operation  calls  for  good  judgment  and  careful 
attention,  but  is  not  difficult  if  the  preliminaries  have  been 
properly  carried  out.  Having  given  Splan's  method  of  teaching 
the  foal  to  eat  grain,  we  will  follow  him  through  the  period  of 
weaning.1  "Now  we  put  on  the  halters  and  keep  them  on, 
leading  the  foals  more  or  less  while  weaning  them.  Leave  them 
in  their  boxes,  two  or  three  together,  several  days,  and  have  the 
boxes  open  into  a  nice  grass  paddock.  Let  them  run  out  and  in, 
give  them  oats  mixed  with  bran  and  sorghum  cut  up  fine,  and  in 
a  few  days  more  turn  them  out  in  the  fields  away  from  their  dams, 
where  there  is  plenty  of  grass  and  water,  and  a  large  trough  with 
feed  in  it  constantly.  They  have  been  in  the  habit  of  taking 
milk  a  great  many  times  a  day,  and  they  need  food  just  as  often. 
The  best  way  is  to  keep  plenty  of  mixed  food  for  them,  using 
cracked  corn  and  oats,  also  unthrashed  oats  run  through  a  cutting- 

1  Loc.  cit.,  pp.  424-5. 


316  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

box,  then  mixed  with  bran  and  water  enough  to  moisten  it  to 
make  the  bran  adhere  to  the  oats.'7 

At  Palo  Alto  foals  were  weaned  at  five  months  of  age;  in  this 
case  the  pair  which  had  run  together  and  become  acquainted 
were  put  in  a  darkened  stall  in  the  evening,  the  dam  being 
placed  out  of  hearing.  They  were  not  allowed  to  suck  after 
the  first  separation.  The  box- stalls  were  without  projections  of 
any  kind,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  foals  to  injure  them- 
selves, though  they  often  reared  against  the  sides  of  the  stall  or 
struck  at  the  door  in  struggling  to  escape.  The  companionship 
of  the  pair,  and  the  fact  that  they  had  been  taught  to  eat  dry 
food,  helped  them  to  sooner  forget  their  dams. 

498.  Feeding  the  colt  after  weaning. —  Colts  are  nondescripts, 
for  the  rearing  of  which  no  definite  rules  can  be  given,  but  com- 
mon sense,  patience  and  alertness  should  prevail.  These  awk- 
ward animals,  utterly  useless  as  yet,  must  nevertheless  be  care- 
fully looked  after,  the  aim  being  to  supply  food  liberally,  with 
plenty  of  sunlight  and  an  abundance  of  exercise.  Oats  lead  in  the 
list  of  feeding  stuffs,  but  shorts  and  bran  with  barley,  peas  and 
feome  corn  may  be  profitably  used  where  economy  is  important. 
These  feeds,  aside  from  corn,  are  rich  in  bone-making  material 
and  will  be  found  satisfactory  as  well  as  economical.  Colts  suf- 
fer at  times  from  teething,  and  to  subsist  wholly  upon  hard,  dry 
food  may  work  injury.  Steamed  crushed  oats  or  barley,  thick- 
ened with  bran,  will  prove  appetizing  and  very  nourishing  in 
such  cases.  Boots  may  be  cooked  and  the  mass  extended  with 
ground  grain  and  bran.  A  limited  quantity  of  this  feed  given  at 
night  in  winter- time,  daily,  or  two  or  three  times  a  week,  will 
show  its  effect  in  a  better  colt  and  a  more  thrifty  general  appear- 
ance. Withholding  coarse  provender  and  giving  concentrated 
grain  in  large  quantities  in  its  place  at  this  period  is  to  be  dep- 
recated, for  it  is  important  that  the  digestive  tract  be  developed 
to  a  moderate  extent  by  distention  with  coarse  feed  that  it  may 
serve  its  purpose  when  the  animal  is  grown.  The  "big  belly" 
which  a  properly-fed  colt  may  carry  at  this  period  is  nothing  to 
its  harm,  even  though  it  annoy  the  short-sighted  stockman  who 
foolishly  may  wish  to  see  in  his  growing  colt  the  trim  form  of  the 
finished  product. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  317 

A  fair  allowance  of  grain  for  the  colt,  measured  in  oats,  is  as 

follows: 

Up  to  one  year  of  age,  from  2  to  3  pounds. 
From  one  to  two  years  of  age,  4  to  5  pounds. 
From  two  to  three  years  of  age,  7  to  8  pounds. 

While  an  ample  allowance  of  such  roughage  as  hay,  straw 
and  stover  should  be  supplied,  it  should  always  be  less  than  the 
animal  would  eat  had  it  free  access  to  this  provender.  The 
colt,  like  the  mature  horse,  should  not  be  allowed  all  the  rough- 
age it  can  consume,  for  such  over-supply  tends  to  gorge  the 
digestive  tract  with  inert  matter,  and  may  work  lasting  injury. 

Liberal  feeding  must  be  counterbalanced  by  an  abundance  of 
outdoor  exercise.     In  no  other  way  can  colts  be  ruined  so  surely 
and  so  permanently  as  by  liberal  feeding  and  close  confinement. 
Each  day  from  three  to  ten  hours  should  be  spent  in  the  open  airr 
according  to  the  condition  of  the  weather  and  other  circumstances. 

499.  Rearing  by  hand. —  It  occasionally  happens  that  the  foal 
must  be  reared  artificially  or  perish.     If  the  young  thing  has 
never  received  any  of  its  mother's  milk,  the  bowels  should  first 
of  all  be  moved  by  a  dose  of  castor  oil.     Cow's  milk,  to  which  at 
least  one- fourth  its  volume  of  water,  together  with  some  sugar, 
has  been  added,  (429)  makes  a  fair  substitute  for  mare's  milk 
and  should  be  given  at  blood  temperature.     Gruels  may  be  made 
by  boiling  beans  or  peas  and  removing  the  skins  by  passing  the 
pulp  through  a  sieve.     Oil  meal  made  into  a  jelly  by  boiling,  and 
shorts  prepared  in  the  same  way,  are  excellent  for  the  motherless 
foal. 

500.  Cow's  milk  for  foal  feeding. —  Cow's  milk  is  often  used  with 
advantage  in  feeding  foals.     Foals  suffering  from  distemper  can- 
not always  take  solid  food  satisfactorily  and  may  be  nurtured  on 
cow' s  milk.     The  foal  may  be  taught  to  drink  milk  by  pouring  it 
upon  the  grain  feed;  the  young  thing  eats  the  moistened  feed, 
and  by  tipping  the  pan  it  soon  learns  to  drink  the  separated  milk. 

At  the  Iowa  Station, l  Wilson  and  Curtiss  fed  whole  milk,  and 
later  separator  skim  milk,  with  satisfactory  results,  to  imported 
Percheron,  Shire  and  French  Coach  weanling  fillies  shortly  after 

1  Bui.  18. 


318  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

their  arrival  and  while  out  of  condition.  In  changing  from  whole 
milk  to  separator  skim  milk,  it  was  necessary  to  reduce  the 
amount  of  milk  fed  for  a  day  or  two  to  prevent  scouring.  Ten 
pounds  of  separator  skim  milk  was  found  to  effect  a  saving  of  one 
pound  of  grain. l  Grattan  reports  favorably  on  the  use  of  skim  milk 
for  foals.  Even  when  fed  sour  or  lobbered,  satisfactory  results  were 
obtained  after  they  were  accustomed  to  it.  MacNeilage  objects 
to  the  use  of  cow's  milk  for  foals,  claiming  "no  better  means  of 
manufacturing  wind-suckers  was  ever  devised,  and  it  is  rare  that 
yearlings  so  brought  out  count  for  much  as  two-year-olds  and 
three-year-olds."2  This  adverse  criticism  is  a  timely  warning 
against  the  too  free  use  of  milk  in  foal  feeding.  While  we  may 
give  a  large  amount  of  milk  to  a  pig,  forcing  its  growth  to  the 
utmost,  we  should  remember  that  this  animal  is  designed  for  the 
pork  barrel,  while  the  growing  colt  is  intended  for  quite  a  differ- 
ent purpose.  Milk  carries  a  large  amount  of  bone  and  muscle- 
building  material  and  is  very  palatable.  Jn  judicious  hands  its 
use  is  commended.  (356-7) 

501.  Feed  and  care  of  the  stallion. —  The  following  from  San- 
ders 3  is  replete  with  good  counsel  in  relation  to  the  stallion  : 
"  The  food  should  mainly  be  good,  sound  oats  —  nothing  is  better; 
but  this  should  be  varied  by  an  occasional  ration  of  corn  or  barley; 
for  horses,  like  men,  are  fond  of  a  variety  in  their  food,  and  an 
occasional  change  of  diet  is  conducive  to  health.  Wheat  bran  is 
an  invaluable  adjunct  to  the  grain  ration,  and  can  never  be  dis- 
pensed with.  It  is  the  cheapest,  safest  and  best  of  all  regulators 
for  the  bowels,  and  it  is  especially  rich  in  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant elements  of  nutrition.  No  specific  directions  as  to  the 
quantity  of  food  can  be  given.  Some  horses  will  require  nearly 
twice  as  much  as  others;  and  the  quantity  that  may  be  safely 
given  will  depend  somewhat  upon  the  amount  of  exercise  in  any 
given  case.  Some  horsemen  recommend  feeding  three  and  others 
four  times  a  day;  but  in  either  case  no  more  should  be  given 
than  will  be  promptly  eaten  up  clean.  If  any  food  should  be  left 
in  the  box  it  should  be  at  once  removed  and  the  quantity  at  the 

i  Breeder's  Gazette.  Vol.  VI,  1884,  p.  796. 
2Tnins.  Highl.and  Agrl.  Soc.,  1890,  p.  152. 
8  "  Horse  Breeding,"  pp.  144-46. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  319 

next  time  of  feeding  should  be  reduced  accordingly.  As  a  rule, 
it  will  be  safe  to  feed  as  much  as  the  horse  will  eat  with  apparent 
relish;  and  then,  with  plenty  of  exercise,  he  will  not  become 
overloaded  with  fat.  The  hay,  as  well  as  the  grain  feed,  should 
be  sound  and  free  from  mould  and  dust,  and  the  stall  should  be 
kept  clean,  well  lighted  and  perfectly  ventilated. 

"The  amount  of  exercise  to  be  given  will  vary  somewhat  with 
the  condition  and  habit  of  the  horse.  If  he  be  in  thin  flesh,  and 
it  is  thought  best  to  fatten  him  up,  the  exercise  should  be  lighter 
than  it  otherwise  would  be;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  there  is  a 
tendency  to  become  too  fat,  this  may  be  corrected  by  increasing  the 
amount  of  exercise  that  is  given.  Draft  horses  should  rarely  be  led 
or  driven  faster  than  a  walk  in  taking  their  exercise,  and  they  will 
require  much  less  of  it  than  the  roadster  or  the  running  horse  — 
a  moderate  'jog'  daily  will  benefit  them.  I  am  clearly  of  the 
opinion  that  in  no  one  particular  is  there  more  faulty  manage- 
ment on  the  part  of  lazy  grooms  and  stable  hands  than  in  the 
matter  of  exercising  stallions  while  doing  service  in  the  stud. 
They  should  not  be  walked  nor  jogged  so  long  that  they  will  be- 
come jaded  or  wearied,  but  should  have  enough  of  it  daily  to  keep 
the  muscles  hard  and  firm,  the  appetite  good  and  to  prevent  them 
from  laying  on  an  undue  amount  of  fat.  No  draft  horse,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  should  have  less  exercise  than  five  miles 
a  day,  and  the  roadster  and  running  horse  may  safely  have  six 
miles,  which  in  some  cases  should  be  increased  to  eight  or  even 
ten. 

"The  point  to  be  aimed  at  in  the  stable  management  of  the 
stallion  is  so  to  feed,  groom  and  exercise  as  to  keep  the  horse  to 
the  very  highest  possible  pitch  of  strength  and  vigor.  The  idea 
which  prevails  among  many  stable  grooms  that  feeding  this  or 
that  nostrum  will  increase  the  ability  of  a  horse  to  get  foals  is 
sheer  nonsense.  Anything  that  adds  to  the  health,  strength  and 
vigor  of  the  horse  will  increase  his  virility  or  sexual  power, 
simply  because  the  sexual  organs  will  partake  of  the  general  tone 
of  the  system;  and,  on  the  contrary,  whatever  tends  to  impair  the 
health  and  vigor  of  the  general  system  will  have  a  deleterious 
effect  upon  the  sexual  organs.  A  healthy  horse  needs  nothing 


320  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

but  good  food,  pure  air,  plenty  of  exercise,  with  due  attention  to 
cleanliness  and  regularity  in  feeding  and  watering;  and  when  all 
these  things  are  attended  to  properly  the  drugs  and  nostrums  that 
stable  lore  prescribes  as  t  good  for  a  horse '  would  be  better  thrown 
to  the  dogs. " 

502.  Food  for  the  mare. —  While  in  foal  the  mare  does  not 
necessarily  require  food  different  in  quality  from  that  fed  at  other 
times,  but  the  quantity  should  be  somewhat  larger,  all  conditions 
being  equal.     Those  used  for  breeding  purposes  only  will  do  well 
without  grain  when  on  nutritious  pasture,  but  if  the  grass  is  in- 
sufficient, some  additional  feed  in  the  shape  of  grain  should  be 
given.     Working  mares  are  more  sure  of  bringing  good  foals 
than  those  idle  in  pasture,  provided  judgment  is  used  in  handling 
and  feeding.     They  should  be  worked  with  regularity,  the  labor 
never  being  severe  or  taxing,  nor  should  the  nature  of  the  work 
ever  be  such  as  to  make  long  intervals  between  feeds,  for  then 
great  hunger  may  be  followed  by  surfeiting.     Idleness  is  the  bane 
of  horse  rearing  and  should  be  avoided  whenever  possible.     To 
place  the  mare  in  a  box-stall  and  confine  her  there  without  suit- 
able exercise,  while  supplied  an  abundance  of  feed,  is  to  adopt  a 
practice  only  too  common  and  one  carrying  large  risk.     Abun- 
dance of  exercise  must  always  go  with  liberal  feeding. 

As  to  the  kind  of  feed  for  the  mare  in  foal,  oats  lead,  yet  shorts 
and  bran  may  be  fed  with  economy  and  beneficial  results;  mashes 
can  be  given  occasionally,  and  where  possible  cooked  feed  may  be 
supplied  at  night,  three  times  a  week.  Through  the  use  of  proper 
foods  the  bowels  will  be  kept  in  a  natural  condition,  and  should 
be  a  little  loose  rather  than  otherwise  at  time  of  parturition. 

503.  Feeding  the  trotter. —  The  single  requisite  of  speed  makes 
the  carrying  of  every  pound  of  useless  body  weight,  and  more 
especially  of  feed,  a  serious  matter  in  the  management  of  the  trot- 
ting horse.     More  important  than  this,  even,  is  the  effect  of  the 
food  upon  the  character  of  the  muscles  formed  from  it,  and  espe- 
cially upon  the  nerve  and  mettle  of  the  horse.     For  help  in  this 
line  we  can  draw  from  no  better  source  than  Hiram  Woodruff,  * 
who  tells  how  the  trotter  should  be  fed  and  managed. 

1  The  Trotting  Horse  of  America,  pp.  90-105. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  321 

When  going  into  winter  quarters,  the  feed  of  the  trotter  should 
be  reduced  fully  one-half  in  order  to  prevent  fattening,  for  too 
much  fat  on  the  intestines  and  about  the  heart  makes  the  trainer 
no  end  of  trouble  in  working  it  off.  A  few  carrots  may  be  given 
and  a  bran  mash  occasionally,  with  good  clean,  sweet  hay.  Horses 
whose  legs  must  undergo  blistering  or  firing  should  have  feed  of 
a  cooling  nature,  mashes  and  carrots  being  in  more  abundance, 
with  less  oats,  in  order  to  reduce  the  tendency  to  feverish,  inflam- 
matory symptoms.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  permit  the  animal 
to  get  flabby  or  washy  by  too  much  soft  food  while  undergo- 
ing treatment.  Horses  turned  out  to  the  field  should  be  fed  oats 
twice  a  day,  for  the  exposure  to  the  severity  of  the  weather  in- 
creases the  need  of  heat-giving  food.  In  the  spring  when  shed- 
ding, bran  mashes  are  in  order  to  keep  the  bowels  open.  Flax 
seed  and  linseed  meal  should  not  be  given,  for  they  have  a  tend- 
ency to  relax  the  system  too  suddenly  and  to  cause  the  old  hair 
to  come  away  before  the  new  coat  is  well  started. 

"With  the  beginning  of  the  season  (we  quote  directly  from 
the  author),1  while  the  jogging,  the  first  part  of  the  trotting 
horse's  preparation,  is  in  progress,  the  strength  of  the  feed  may 
be  increased,  though  not  up  to  the  extent  that  will  be  requisite 
when  the  work  is  made  longer  and  sharper.  He  may  have,  dur- 
ing this  first  part  of  the  preparation,  from  eight  to  ten  quarts  of 
oats  a  day,  according  to  his  capacity  as  a  feeder,  and  the  demands 
made  by  nature  for  supply  of  strong  food  under  work.  As  the 
oats  are  increased,  the  horse  will  want  less  hay,  but  may  still 
have  all  he  will  eat  up  clean.  After  taking  his  feed  of  oats,  he 
will  not  consume  as  much  hay  in  general;  but  some  horses  are 
such  gluttons  that  it  is  necessary  to  limit  them  as  to  hay  almost 
from  the  first.  There  are  even  some  who  will  eat  the  straw  of 
their  bedding  when  they  have  had  all  the  grain  and  hay  that 
should  be  fed  to  them;  and,  with  these,  it  sometimes  becomes 
necessary  to  put  on  the  muzzle  long  before  the  time  for  the  trial 
or  the  race.  No  carrots  are  now  to  be  given,  and  I  believe  corn 
to  be  unnecessary  and  often  mischievous.  It  is  heating,  and  does 
not  contain  as  much  of  the  stuff  that  goes  to  make  up  hard  flesh 

1  Loe.  cit.,  p.  99. 
21 


322  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

and  elastic  muscle  as  oats.  There  may  be  instances,  however,  in 
which  a  light  feeder  can  be  got  to  eat  up  his  oats,  and  a  handful 
of  corn  as  well,  when  the  latter  is  mixed  with  them.  In  such  a 
case  it  is  well  to  give  it;  but  in  no  case  should  corn  be  used  as  a 
substitute  for  the  allowance  of  oats  the  horse  in  training  ought  to 
have. 

"  While  the  jogging  and  after  preparation  are  going  on,  a  bran- 
niash  now  and  then  will  be  proper.  Probably  about  once  a  week 
will  be  often  enough  and  not  too  often;  but  this  will  be  indicated 
by  the  condition  of  the  horse's  bowels  and  by  his  constitutional 
tendencies  and  requirements.  If  his  bowels  are  relaxed,  the  use 
of  the  bran-mash  is  not  apparent;  and  if  he  is  of  the  light,  washy 
order,  never  having  much  substance,  and  easily  melting  away 
when  put  into  sharp  training  work,  mashes  are  to  be  given 
more  sparingly  than  with  one  of  the  opposite  character.  The 
trainer  is  never  to  relax  his  vigilance  of  observation,  or  let  his 
judgment  go  to  sleep  and  trust  to  arbitrary  rules.  .  .  .  Dur- 
ing the  fast  work,  preparatory  to  the  coming  trial,  the  horse  will 
have  been  put  upon  his  largest  allowance  of  strong  food.  Some 
will  not  eat  more  than  eight  or  ten  quarts  of  oats  a  day;  and  it  is 
necessary  to  be  very  vigilant  and  careful  that  these  light  feeders 
are  not  over-marked  in  work.  Twelve  or  thirteen  quarts  is  about 
what  a  good  feeder  ought  to  have.  Some  will  eat  sixteen  quarts 
of  oats  a  day,  but  my  belief  is  that  three  quarts  of  it  does  more 
harm  than  good." 

Splan  tells  us1  that  Earus,  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  summer, 
consumed  fifteen  pounds  of  oats  per  day,  which  he  regarded  as  the 
maximum  for  a  strong,  energetic  horse. 

All  horsemen  agree  in  regarding  oats  as  the  one  grain  suit- 
able for  animals  where  speed  is  sought  regardless  of  cost  of  food. 
While  this  opinion  prevails  in  this  country,  we  should  remem- 
ber that  the  Arab  horse  usually  subsists  upon  barley. 

504.  Feeding  the  carriage  horse. —  Style  and  action  should  be 
prerequisites  with  the  carriage  horse,  economy  in  feeding  stand- 
ing second.  Oats  easily  lead  among  concentrates,  for  any  good 
driver  will  tell  us  that  a  horse  fed  on  oats  exhibits  mettle  as  from 
no  other  feed.  For  variety,  rolled  wheat  or  barley  with  bran 

1  Life  with  the  Trotters,  p.  302. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  323 

may  form  a  portion  of  the  ration.  From  ten  to  twelve  pounds  of 
oats,  or  their  equivalent,  should  suffice  for  the  concentrates, 
divided  into  three  feeds,  the  evening  meal  being  the  largest. 
Cooked  grain,  having  a  tendency  to  soften  the  flesh,  should  not 
generally  be  given,  though  a  feed  once  or  twice  a  week  will  have 
a  cooling  effect;  bran  mashes  will  be  conducive  to  the  same  end. 
A  part  of  the  hay  may  be  chaffed  and  moistened  before  feeding; 
the  remainder  may  be  fed  long,  as  the  carriage  horse  has  plenty 
of  time  for  masticating  his  food.  From  ten  to  twelve  pounds  ot 
hay  should  be  allowed  in  order  to  bring  the  total  weight  of  the 
ration  within  the  limit  of  twenty  or  twenty-two  pounds. 

While  the  large  abdomen  cannot  be  tolerated  in  the  carriage 
horse,  we  should  not  forget  that  there  must  be  a  certain  bulk  or 
volume  to  the  feed  in  order  that  the  digestive  functions  may  be 
properly  maintained.  Carriage  horses  are  usually  over-fed  and 
under  or  irregularly  exercised,  the  latter  trouble  arising  from  the 
absence  or  business  engagements  of  the  owner  or  because  of  inclem- 
ent weather.  For  these  reasons  mainly,  the  period  of  satisfac- 
tory service  with  this  class  of  animals  is  usually  short.  Where 
daily  driving  cannot  be  practiced,  under-feeding  rather  than  heavy 
feeding  should  prevail  as  the  safer  course.  When  the  team  is 
not  taken  from  the  stable  during  the  day,  the  concentrates  or 
grain  portion  of  the  ration  should  at  once  be  reduced  one- third 
or  one-half,  and  the  normal  allowance  should  not  again  be  given 
until  work  or  exercise  demands  it.  Such  action  requires  firmness 
on  the  part  of  the  feeder  who  wishes  to  treat  his  animals  with 
kindness,  but  any  other  system  than  that  of  accurately  gauging 
feed  to  work  is  harmful  and  ultimately  disastrous. 

505.  Feeding  the  work  horse. —  The  work  horse,  having  but  few 
days  of  idleness,  possesses  a  hearty  appetite  and  a  vigorous  diges- 
tion, so  that  if  intelligently  cared  for,  his  lot  is  not  altogether  an 
unhappy  one;  nor  is  he  to  be  commiserated  when  compared  with 
his  aristocratic  kin,  the  carriage  horse,  which  by  high  living  and 
periods  of  enforced  idleness,  followed  occasionally  perhaps  by 
hours  of  over-exertion,  generally  has  but  a  brief  career  and  that 
sometimes  attended  with  many  ills.  Eegularity  in  work  brings 
regularity  of  feeding,  and  these  greatly  conduce  to  comfort  and 
long  years  of  usefulness. 


324  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  concentrates  for  work  horses  can  rarely  consist  wholly  of 
oats  because  of  their  cost.  Boiled  wheat  and  barley  are  excellent 
substitutes,  and  corn  meal,  or  preferably  corn  and  cob  meal,  may 
form  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  ration.  Bran  has  come  into 
general  use  as  part  feed  for  the  horse.  Shorts  or  middlings  may 
be  used  to  the  extent  of  two  or  three  pounds  per  day.  This  por- 
tion of  the  wheat  grain  is  excellent  for  the  horse,  except  that  the 
heavy  or  floury  middlings,  if  fed  in  quantity,  are  liable  to  induce 
colic  with  many  horses.  Cooked  feed  may  be  given  two  or  three 
times  a  week  for  cooling  the  system;  in  its  absence,  bran  mashes 
should  be  given.  A  small  allowance  of  roots  is  always  in 
order. 

The  work  horse  should  be  supplied  with  about  two  pounds  of 
provender  daily  for  each  hundred  pounds  of  weight.  Of  this, 
from  ten  to  eighteen  pounds,  according  to  the  severity  of  the  labor 
performed,  should  be  grain  in  some  form.  The  heavy  feeding 
should  come  at  night,  after  the  long  day's  work  is  over  and  when 
the  animal  has  time  for  masticating  and  digesting  his  food.  After 
watering  comes  the  administration  of  the  grain,  which  should 
constitute  one-half  to  two-thirds  of  the  day's  allowance.  This 
may  be  fed  separately,  or  preferably  upon  moistened,  chaffed  hay. 
The  amount  of  chaffed  hay  with  which  the  grain  is  mixed  should 
not  exceed  one  peck  in  volume. 

Ground  grain  and  chaffed  hay  are  fed  in  mixed  form  that  the 
animal  may  masticate  his  food  and  pass  it  to  the  stomach  more 
quickly  than  is  possible  with  the  material  whole  and  in  dry  form. 
A  fair  allowance  of  long  hay  should  always  be  thrown  into  the 
manger  for  the  animal  to  finish  on,  after  the  stomach  is  replen- 
ished and  while  he  is  resting  but  still  requiring  more  food.  The 
morning  meal  should  be  comparatively  light,  consisting  mostly  of 
grain  with  some  chaffed  hay.  It  should  not  possess  much  bulk, 
and  should  be  in  condition  to  be  easily  and  rapidly  consumed  so 
as  to  be  well  out  of  the  way  when  the  animal  is  led  from  the 
stable.  The  mid-day  meal  is  omitted  in  many  stables,  but  most 
horsemen  hold  that  some  grain  should  be  given  at  noon,  which 
claim  seems  reasonable  from  our  knowledge  of  the  horse's  stomach 
and  the  digestive  process.  In  any  case  the  amount  of  feed  given 
at  mid- day  should  not  be  large. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  325 

506.  Preparation  of  feed. —  The  food  requirements  of  the  horse 
vary  more  than  for  any  other  farm  animal  because  of  their  wide 
range  in  weight  and  the  great  diversity  and  severity  of  the  labor 
performed.  Idle  horses  may  be  maintained  wholly  or  almost 
wholly  upon  hay,  straw  or  corn  fodder,  fed  uncut.  Such  animals 
have  ample  time  for  masticating  food,  and  their  systems  not  being 
taxed  by  labor,  they  are  able  to  subsist  on  food  which  contains  a 
large  percentage  of  inert  matter.  Forage  possessing  considerable 
volume,  as  hay  and  straw,  is  suitable  for  such  animals  because  a 
reasonable  amount  will  furnish  the  necessary  nutriment,  and  it  is 
better  to  have  the  digestive  tract  well  distended  with  food  sub- 
stnnces  than  contracted,  as  would  be  the  case  if  concentrates  pos- 
sessing only  the  requisite  nutriment  were  supplied. 

For  horses  taxed  to  the  limit  of  their  endurance  all  grain 
should  be  ground  and  fed  upon  moistened,  chaffed  hay.  Food 
thus  prepared  is  more  rapidly  masticated  and  consequently  re- 
mains a  longer  time  in  the  stomach.  A  little  long  hay  may  be 
supplied  the  animal,  to  be  consumed  at  leisure  after  the  stomach  is 
well  filled.  Understanding  the  requirements  of  animals  repre- 
senting the  two  extremes,  one  can  adjust  the  food  preparation  and 
supply  to  meet  the  various  intermediate  cases  as  they  arise. 

There  is  always  more  or  less  dust  with  hay,  and  this  rough- 
age should  always  be  administered  in  such  manner  as  to  cause 
the  horse  the  least  annoyance.  Dusty  hay  should  be  avoided  if 
possible.  Sprinkling  the.  hay  lightly  with  water  is  the  simplest 
way  of  reducing  the  trouble  to  the  minimum. 

507.  The  order  of  administering  grain,  hay  and  water. —  Colin' s 
investigations  on  the  stomach  of  the  horse  x  show  that  this  organ 
must  fill  and  empty  itself  two  or  three  times  for  each  feed  given. 
(34^  In  one  case  he  administered  2,500  grams  (5.5  pounds)  of 
hay  to  a  horse,  which  was  then  killed,  and  on  opening  the  stomach 
less  than  one-half  of  the  hay  was  found  therein,  the  remainder 
having  passed  into  the  intestines.  Other  animals  killed  at  longer 
intervals  after  feeding  showed  that  the  passage  of  the  food  into  the 
intestines  was  not  as  rapid  toward  the  end  of  the  repast  as  at  the 
beginning.  From  this  it  appears  there  are  two  periods  in  thedi- 

1  Traite  d.  Phys.  Comp.  des  Animaux. 


326  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

gestion  of  hay;  in  the  first,  the  material  is  pushed  on,  almost  as 
soon  as  it  enters  the  stomach,  into  the  intestines  by  the  food  which 
follows,  while  toward  the  end  of  the  meal  the  passage  is  slow  and 
the  digestion  in  the  stomach  more  perfect. 

Marlot,  conducting  experiments  at  the  Agricultural  College, 
Department  of  Yonne,  France,  fed  four  quarts  of  oats  to  a  horse 
which  was  killed  soon  after.  An  examination  of  the  stomach 
showed  that  three  quarts  of  the  oats  had  been  carried  by  the 
water  into  the  intestines.  The  grain  of  the  ration  being  rich  in 
protein  should  remain  in  the  stomach  as  long  as  possible  for  the 
digestion  of  this  nutrient. 

Sanborn,  studying  the  effects  of  watering  before  and  after  feed- 
ing, concludes  as  follows:1 

"1.  Horses  watered  before  feeding  grain  retained  their  weight 
better  than  when  watered  after  feeding  grain.  2.  Horses  watered 
before  feeding  had  the  better  appetite  or  ate  the  most.  3.  Horses 
watered  after  feeding  grain,  in  ratio  to  the  food  eaten,  seemed  to 
digest  it  as  well  as  those  watered  before  feeding.  In  a  prior  trial 
there  was  a  small  apparent  advantage  in  favor  of  feeding  after 
watering,  on  digestion.  4.  It  seems  advisable  to  water  both  be- 
fore and  after  feeding. " 

In  some  cases  cruelty  is  certainly  practiced  towards  horses  in 
withholding  a  normal  water  supply.  Splan2  writes:  "As  to 
water  I  think  every  horse  should  have  all  he  wants  at  all  times. 
A  man  says:  Why,  will  you  give  your  horse  water  before  a  race  ? 
Yes,  before  the  race,  in  the  race  and  after  the  race,  arid  any  other 
time  the  horse  wants  to  drink.  .  .  .  When  I  said  give  your 
horse  all  the  water  he  wants  before  the  race,  I  do  not  mean  that 
you  shall  tie  him  up  where  he  cannot  get  a  drink  for  five  or  six 
hours  on  a  hot  day  in  a  warm  stall,  and  then  take  him  to  the  pump 
and  give  him  all  he  wants.  What  I  mean  is  to  give  him  water 
often,  and  in  that  way  he  will  take  but  a  small  quantity  at  a 
time." 

In  general  we  may  say  that  horses  should  have  their  regular 
and  largest  supply  of  water  previous  to  feeding,  and  it  may  also 

1  Bui.  9,  Utah  Expt.  Sta. 

*  Life  with  the  Trotters,  pp.  302-3. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  327 

be  well  to  supply  a  limited  quantity  after  feeding.  When  the 
horses  come  to  the  stable  heated  and  fatigued,  a  little  fresh  water, 
even  if  cold,  may  be  given  with  beneficial  effect  —  say  eight  or  ten 
quarts.  Then  when  cooled  off  and  rested,  what  they  still  re- 
quire should  be  supplied.  When  on  the  road  a  few  quarts  of 
water  can  be  given  with  safety,  no  matter  how  much  the  horse  is 
heated,  but  a  large  quantity  should  never  be  supplied  at  one  time. 
On  journeys,  water  should  be  given  every  few  miles. 

A  theoretical  system  of  feeding  would  require  that  the  horse 
be  given  water  first  of  all,  and  that  this  be  followed  by  hay,  the 
grain  being  withheld  until  at  least  some  hay  had  been  consumed. 
While  the  plan  of  watering  first  is  easily  followed,  we  cannot  and 
should  not  make  the  horse  wait  for  the  grain,  consuming  his  hay 
allowance  first,  for  until  the  grain  is  given  he  is  nervous  and 
unsatisfied.  In  practice  the  concentrates  will  usually  be  supplied 
before  hay  is  given.  A  middle  ground  can  be  taken  by  watering 
first  and  then  feeding  ground  grain  sprinkled  upon  a  small  allow- 
ance of  moistened  chaffed  hay.  This  will  satisfy  the  desire  of 
the  horse  by  supplying  the  most  palatable  portion  of  his  food 
early,  and  yet  insure  the  retention  of  the  grain  in  the  stomach  for 
a  considerable  period,  since  masticating  and  swallowing  the  cut 
hay  with  accompanying  meal  will  require  some  time. 

The  small  size  of  the  stomach  of  the  horse  indicates  the  impro- 
priety of  long  fasting.  While  it  is  a  fact  that  horses  employed 
by  some  establishments  go  from  daylight  until  dark  without  food, 
it  seems  that  where  possible  these  fasts  should  be  broken  by  a 
small  feed  of  grain  at  mid- day. 

Over-feeding  with  hay  is  the  source  of  a  long  list  of  ills  with 
the  horse.  Through  carelessness  or  mistaken  kindness  the  mangers 
are  often  kept  filled  with  hay,  and  because  of  his  long  hours  of 
idleness  in  the  stable  the  horse  falls  into  the  habit  of  gorging 
himself  with  this  provender.  Not  only  is  there  waste  of  hay  in 
such  cases,  but  whatever  is  eaten  beyond  requirement  exhausts 
the  digestive  system  and  weakens  its  influence  upon  the  other 
nutrients  of  the  ration.  Staring  coats,  labored  breathing  and 
quick  tiring  are  the  least  serious,  though  probably  the  most 
easily  noticeable,  results  of  this  common  practice.  There  should 


328  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

be  a  definite  allowance  of  hay  for  the  horse  at  each  feeding  time, 
and  this  should  always  fall  short  of  what  would  be  consumed  if 
more  were  given.  Next  to  failure  to  provide  abundant  and  sys- 
tematic exercise  the  common  fault  in  horse  management,  where 
animals  are  used  for  pleasure,  is  that  of  overfeeding  with  hay. 

508.  Systematic  feeding  of  the  highest  importance. —  No  one 
can  review  the  literature  of  horse  feeding  or  personally  study  the 
practices  in  various  stables  located  at  widely  separated  points,  as 
the  writer  has  done,  without  realizing  that  there  are  many  suc- 
cessful ways  of  feeding  and  managing  the  horse.     The  uses  to 
which  this  animal  is  put  are  so  varied,  and  the  feeding  materials 
at  command  so  diverse  for  different  localities,  that  any  hard-and- 
fast  rules  as  to  kind  of  feed  and  amount  to  be  supplied  are  out 
of  the  question.     One  thing  is  certain,  however:  Whatever  feed- 
ing stuffs  are  employed  and  whatever  order  of  feeding  is  adopted, 
regularity  and  uniformity  should  prevail  at  all  times.     The  ani- 
mal during  his  round  of  work  anticipates  the  feeding  hour.     The 
digestive  system,  and  indeed  the  whole  organism  of  the  body, 
becomes  accustomed  to  this  certain  order,  and  thrift  and  health 
are  the  natural  concomitants,  while  irregularity  and  uncertainty 
are  always  productive  of  unsatisfactory  results. 

509.  Variety  in  feed  of  importance. —  Horsemen  sometimes  state 
that  with  plenty  of  oats  and  good  hay  at  command  they  care  noth- 
ing for  other  food  articles.     While  it  is  true  that  a  horse  can  be 
maintained  on  this  short  dietary,  it  seems  reasonable  that  equally 
good  or  better  results  are  obtainable,  and  the  cost  of  keeping  often 
lessened,  by  adopting  a  more  extended  bill  of  fare.     Experiments 
with  other  domestic  animals  plainly  show  the  advantages  of  j  udi- 
ciously  formed  combinations  of  feeding  stuffs  over  any  single  one. 
If  energy  and  spirited  action  were  the  only  qualities  desirable  in 
the  horse,  then  perhaps  oats  with  hay  might  suffice;  but  when  we 
consider  the  number  and  complexity  of  the  components  of  bone, 
tissue  and  nerve,  we  can  well  believe  that  these  are  better  nour- 
ished by  several  kinds  of  grain  and  forage  plants  than  by  one  or 
two  only. 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  value  of  variety  in  food  and  its 
proper  administration  is  shown  by   Mr.    Charles    Hunting,    a 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  329 

superintendent  having  under  his  care  some  7,000  horses  em- 
ployed in  the  collieries  of  North  England,  who  writes  as  follows:1 
"I  was  called  to  a  colliery  in  Durham  some  time  ago;  the  out- 
put at  this  place  was  decreased  from  fifteen  to  twenty  score  per 
day  through  the  horses  being  unable,  from  want  of  condition,  to 
get  the  work  out.  The  animals  were  miserably  poor,  though 
allowed  168  pounds  of  oats  and  154  pounds  of  hay  each  per 
week.  The  oats  were  not  crushed  and  the  hay  was  not  chopped. 
The  horses  were  large,  none  under  16  hands,  many  16.2.  They 
worked  very  long  hours,  and  took  heavy  loads,  but  I  confess  I 
was  astonished  at  their  appearance  after  many  months  of  such 
apparently  liberal  feeding.  On  September  1  their  food  was 
changed  to  the  following: 

Crushed  peas 35  Ibs.  at  34s.  per  qr. 

Crushed  barley 20  Ibs.  at  28s.  per  qr. 

Crushed  oats 40  Ibs.  at  28s.  per  qr. 

Bran 14  Ibs.  at  T^d.  per  st. 

Hay 7sts.  at9d. 

Total 12s.  91<L 

"The  old  plan  gave  us: 

Oats 168  Ibs.  at  28s.  per  qr.  14s.  Od. 

Hay 11  sts.  at  9d.  perst.  8s.  3d. 

Total £1  2s.  3d. 

Difference:  9s.  5£d.  per  horse  per  week. 

"Notice,  too,  that  besides  this  saving  in  money,  the  digestive 
organs  had  56  pounds  less  hay  and  59  pounds  less  corn  (grain)  to 
digest.  Or:  — 

Mixed  grim 109  Ibs.  Old  oats 168  Ibs. 

Hay 981bs.  Hay 154  Ibs. 

Total 207  Ibs.  Total 322  Ibs. 

"Result:  Within  three  months  this  stud  was  in  excellent 
health  and  condition,  drawing  out  of  the  pit,  without  any  appli- 
cation of  engine  power,  about  twenty  to  thirty  scores  more  per 
day  than  when  I  first  saw  them.  There  were  149  horses  on  the 
colliery,  so  by  this  change  a  saving  of  £3,662  12s.  l£d.  per  annum 
was  effected." 


1  Paper  read  before  New  Castle  Farmers'  Club  by  Mr.  Chas.  Hunting. 
South  Hetton,  County  of  Durham,  England;  see  The  English  Cart 
Horse  Stud  Book,  Vol.  I,  p.  xlv. 


330  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

510.  The  supervision  of  feeding. —  In  stables  where  many  horses 
are  maintained,  a  group  or  row  of  animals  should  remain  in  the 
care  of  the  same  attendant,  the  whole  establishment  being  under 
the  watchful  supervision  of  the  superintendent.     While  we  can 
estimate  quite  closely  the  amount  of  food  to  be  given  a  hundred 
or  a  thousand  horses,  there  must  always  be  modifications  and  con- 
cessions to  individual  members  of  the  establishment  to  be  recog- 
nized and  provided  for  by  the  guiding  mind, —  one  horse  should 
have  a  little  more  than  the  regulation  allowance,  and  the  next 
possibly  a  little  less,  the  object  being  to  keep  each  in  the -desired 
condition.     Usually  it  is  not  well  to  leave  the  feeding  of  horses 
to  their  own  driver,  for  he  has  his  likes  and  dislikes,  and  the 
favorites  are  pretty  certain  to  receive  more  than  their  proper 
allowance  of  grain,  while  the  others  suffer.     A  watchful  superin- 
tendent must  ever  be  on  the  alert  to  see  that  each  animal  secures 
the  needed  provender. 

511.  Exercise   essential,  to   the    maintenance   of   health. —  The 
Arabs  have  a  saying,  "  Rest  and  fat  are  the  greatest  enemies  of 
the  horse. ' '     The  horse  is  par  excellence  the  creature  of  motion, 
and  in  its  feeding  and  management  we  should  hold  this  point 
ever  in  view.     The  prudent  horseman  will  bear  in  mind  that  cor- 
relative with  liberal  feeding  there  must  be  hearty  exercise  or 
severe  labor,  and  that  these  conditions  may  be  happily  balanced. 
As  soon  as  hard  labor  ceases,  or  constant  and  vigorous  exercise  is 
over,  it  will  be  found  absolutely  necessary  to  reduce  the  allow- 
ance of  food  if  the  proper  balance  is  to  be  maintained.     The  idle 
horse  should  be  limited  to  less  than  half  the  grain  given  while  on 
regular  duty,  and  in  some  instances  it  were  better  to  give  none, 
provided  the  roughage  supplied  be  of  good  quality. 

A  colt  fed  heavily  on  suitable  nutrients  will  grow  rapidly 
and  develop  good  bone  and  strong  muscle,  provided  at  all  times 
there  be  a  proper  balance  between  exercise  and  feed.  The 
highly-fed  colt  should  be  out  of  doors  from  eight  to  ten  hours  a 
day,  and  should  move  several  miles  each  day  either  in  the  field, 
on  the  track,  or  both.  A  mature  horse  should  be  in  the  open  air 
not  less  than  four  or  five  hours  a  day  and  should  travel  from  ten 
to  fifteen  miles  daily  to  maintain  health. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse.  331 

512.  Rations.  —  The  following  rations  given  by  various  author- 
ities may  serve  as  a  general  guide  in  determining  the  amount  of 
feed  which  should  be  allowed  the  horse  under  diverse  conditions: 

Character  of  animal  and  _  \  _ 

work  required.  Concentrates.  Roughage* 

Trotting  horse.—  Hiram  Woodruff.1 

Colt,  weaning  time  ......................    2  pounds  oats.  Hay  ad  lib. 

Colt,  one  year  old  .........................    4  pounds  oats.  Hay  ad  lib. 

Colt,  two  years  old  .......................    6  pounc^j  oats.  Hay  ad  lib. 

Colt,  two  years  old,  in  training.  ...    8  pounds  oats.        { 
Colt,  three  years  old,  in  training...    8-12  pounds  oats,  j 

Trotting  horse.—  Splan.  * 
Horse  on  circuit  ...........................  10  pounds  oats.        { 

Horse  on  circuit  ...........................  15  pounds  oats, 

in  exceptional          Hay,  fair 
cases  (as  with  Rarus).    amount. 

Horse  variously  used.  —  Stonehenge.3 

Race  horse  ...................................  15  pounds  oats.  6-8  pounds  hay. 

Hack  ............................................    8  pounds  oats.  12   pounds  hay. 

Horse  variously  used.  —  Fleming.4 

P^y  ............................................    *  pounds  oats.  {Hajj0™^te 

Hunter,  small  ..............................  12  pounds  oats.  12   pounds  hay, 

Hunter,  large  ...............................  16  pounds  oats.  10   pounds  hay. 

Carriage,  light  work  .....................  10  pounds  oats.  12   pounds  hay. 

The  draft  horse.—  Sidney.5 

Heavy,  hard  work  ......  {  *6  founds  beats,      {  15  ^ds  chaff- 

1    3  pounds  corn.        \     ed  clover  hay. 

Farm  horse.  —  Settegast.6 
Li<?ht  ™k  .................................    6-10  P^  "a*-  { 


13  pounds  oats.        { 


1  The  Trotting  Horse  of  America.  2  Life  with  the  Trotters. 

8  The  Horse.         *  The  Practical  Horse  Keeper.         °  Book  of  the  Horse. 
•  Thierzucht,  II,  1888,  p.  109. 


332 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


513.  Rations  for  army  horses.  —  The  following  are  the  rations 
allowed  army  horses  in  the  countries  noted: 

Ration. 

Government.  Weight  of  horse.     Concentrates.        fioughage. 

United  States,  *•  cavalry,   950  to  1,150  Ibs.  12  Ibs.  oats.   ^ 

»r        L  14  Ibs.  hay. 
J 


corn  or 
barley, 

United  States,  artillery,  1,050  to  1,200  Ibs.  12  Ibs.  oats, 

corn 
barley 


3.   oats,   1 

•n  or        [•  14  Ibs.  hay. 

rley.        J 

Germany,*  cavalry  ...................  1,050  Ibs.  10  Ibs.  oats.*  {  J^ 

Germany,  cavalry-officers'  .......................  11  Ibs.  oats.    {  *•* 


Great  Britain,"  cavalry  ......................  .....  10  Ibs.  oats.    {  ^     j[j 

Great  Britain,  cavalry,  severe  duty  .........  12-14  Ibs.  oats.  {  1|     j^' 

*  Wolff  (Article  441)  refers  to  the  German  cavalry  ration  as  containing 
11  pounds  of  oats. 

514.  Rations  used  by  street-car  companies.  —  The  rations  used 
by  street-  car  companies  are  interesting  not  only  because  they  show 
the  feed  required  by  animals  thus  worked,  but,  because  of  the 
constant  and  severe  labor  performed  by  this  class  of  animals, 
we  can  learn  of  the  food  requirements  of  hard-  worked  horses. 
The  following  rations  a,re  given  by  Fleming4  as  the  daily  allow- 
ance for  horses  of  some  of  the  principal  tramway  (horse-car)  com- 
panies of  Great  Britain: 

Rations  for  British  tramway  (street-car}  horses  —  Fleming. 


London. 

Liverpool. 

Glasgow. 

Edinburgh. 

Dublin. 

Lbs. 
Corn  ..    7 

Lbs. 
Corn  12 

Lbs. 
Oats  ..     6 

Lbs. 
Oats  8 

Lbs. 
Corn...  14 

Oats  ...    3 

Beans  4 

Corn..    11 

Corn  4 

Oats...    3 

Peas...     3 
Hay       12 

Cut  hay  ...  14 
Bran      .  ..    1 

Hay  ..     8.5 
Straw      1 

Beans  4 
Hay    14 

Hay  ...  12 
Bran  ..       .5 

Straw..    1 

Bran..        .5 

Marshlum.    2 

Special  Agent  Mattes,  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  has 


1  From  information  furnished  by  Chas.  Bird,  Quartermaster  General 
U.  S.  Army,  Washington. 


2  Landw.  Jahrb.,  1887,  Suppl.  TIT,  p.  72. 

8  Fleming,  The  Practical  Horse  Keeper,  p.  89. 


Loe.  cit.,  p.  88. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Horse. 


333 


gathered  important  information1  concerning  the  rations  of  street- 
car horses  on  the  Continent,  some  of  which  are  herewith  pre- 
sented: 

Rations  for  street-car  horses  in  various  European  cities  —  Mattes. 


City. 

Daily  allowance  per  horse. 

Nutrients  in  ration. 

Corn. 

Oats. 

Hay. 

Straw. 

Prot. 

Carbh. 

Fat. 

Nut. 
ratio. 

Bremen    

Lbs. 

14.3 

7.7 

15.4 
11.0 
17.6 
6.6 

Lbs. 

2.2* 
11.0 

"*4.T 
1.7 
11.0 
15.4 

Lbs. 

8.8 
4.4 

13.2 
13.2 
7.7 
5.5 
11.0 

Lbs. 

2.2 
3.3 

1.1 
1.1 
4.4 
4.4 
2.2 

Lbs. 

2.03 
1.76 

1.94 
1.94 
2.01 
1.76 
1.83 

Lbs. 

13.18 
11.42 

13.96 
12.85 
15.17 
11.13 
13.54 

Lbs. 

.75 

.84 

.75 
.75 
.86 
.79 
.73 

Lbs. 

1  :7.7 
1:7.7 

1:8.2 
1:7.6 
1:8.6 
1:7.4 
1:8.4 

Brussels  

Bordeaux  — 
Winter  

Summer 

Hamburg  

Munich  

Vienna  

*1.1  pounds  additional  of  peas. 

In  examining  these  rations,  we  observe  that  corn  usually  con- 
stitutes a  part  of  the  ration.  Most  of  the  corn  used  in  the 
United  Kingdom  and  Germany  comes  from  this  country.  Even 
with  the  increased  cost  incident  to  importation,  many  companies 
find  it  a  relatively  cheap  food,  and  make  large  use  of  it. 

1  Report  of  the  Statistician,  October,  1894,  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Washington. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CALF  REARING. 

I.  Findings  of  the  Investigators. 

\j  515.  Birth  weight  of  calves. —  According  to  Krafft, l  the  weight 
of  calves  at  birth  is  from  one-twelfth  to  one-fourteenth  the  weight 
of  the  dam.  This  authority  places  the  weight  at  birth  as  follows: 

Birth  weight. 
Pounds. 

Light-weight  calves 48—  66 

Average  calves 66 —  92 

Heavy  calves 97—110 

Very  heavy  calves 115  — 128 

516.  Whole  milk  for  calves. —  Bertschinger  gives  the  following 
results  for  feeding  trials  with  whole  milk  to  calves  in  the  Canton 
of  Zurich,  Switzerland:2 

Number  of  calves  fattened 34 

Duration  of  fattening  period,  weeks 11J 

Quantity  of  whole  milk  fed,  per  calf,  pounds 1,612.6 

Live  weight  of  calves  at  beginning,  pounds 102.5 

Increase  in  weight,  pounds 166.4 

One  pound  of  increase,  live  weight,  was  obtained  for  each  10.1 
pounds  of  whole  milk  fed. 

Martiny8  found  that  from  3.5  to  6  pounds  of  new  milk  were 
sufficient  to  produce  a  pound  of  gain,  live  weight,  with  calves 
between  the  first  and  fifth  weeks,  while  from  16  to  20  pounds  were 
required  for  a  pound  of  gain  with  older  animals. 

At  the  Pennsylvania  Station, 4  Hunt  fed  three  calves  full  milk 
containing  an  average  of  4. 6  per  cent,  of  fat  for  161  days.  These 
calves  gained  1.77  pounds  each  daily,  requiring  8.7  pounds  of 

1  Lehrb.  d.  Ldw.,  3,  1890,  p.  85. 

2  Fleischmann,  Molkereiwesen,  1876,  p.  150. 
8  Die  Milch,  2,  1871,  pp.  9-15. 

«  Kept.  1891. 


Calf  Bearing.  335 

whole  milk  and  one  pound  each  of  hay  and  grain  for  one  pound 
of  growth.   (356) 

517.  Feeding  skim  milk. —  Fleischmann1  quotes  an  experiment 
with  six  calves  receiving  skim  milk  only.     Twelve  pounds  of 
skim  milk  were  required  for  one  pound  of  gain. 

Beckhusen2  reports  feeding  trials  with  calves  receiving  skim 
milk  and  making  an  average  daily  gain  of  2.1  pounds.  One 
pound  of  gain  was  produced  from  13.3  pounds  of  skim  milk. 
From  7.9  to  20. 1  pounds  of  skim  milk  were  required  for  one  pound 
of  gain,  according  to  the  age  of  the  animal.  (357) 

518.  Separator  skim  milk. —  Du  Eoi3  fed  18  calves,  averaging 
91.5  pounds  at  birth,  for  37  days.    Each  calf  received  11.4  pounds 
of  full  milk  and  896. 7  pounds  of  separator  skim  milk,  and  gained 
on  the  average  52.9  pounds,  giving  one  pound  of  increase  for  16 
pounds  of  separator  skim  milk.     In  this  trial  one  pound  of  new 
milk  was  considered  equal  to  two  pounds  of  skim  milk. 

519.  The  Iowa  Station  tests. —  Calf  rearing  with  separator  skim 
milk  has  been  studied  by  Curtiss,  of  the  Iowa  Station, 4  who  gives 
the  following  recent  important  results.     Milk  from  the  college 
dairy  herd  was  fed  immediately  after  it  had  passed  through  the 
separator,  the  temperature  being  from  85  to  90  degrees  Fahr. 
The  chief  object  of  the  experiments  was  to  determine  the  best 
grain  to  feed  in  connection  with  skim  milk.     Oil  meal,  oat  meal 
and  corn  meal,  with  a  little  ground  flax  seed  additional,  were 
used.     The  first  test,  conducted  during  the  summer,  lasted  sixty 
days,  with  two  calves, —  one  Short-horn  and  one  Holstein  in  each 
lot, —  averaging  182  pounds  when  the  trial  began.     The  second 
trial,  with  two  calves  in  each  lot,  conducted  during  the  fall  and 
winter,  lasted  ninety  days.     The  calves  were  high-grade  Short- 
horns, from  two  to  three  weeks  old  when  the  feeding  began.   The 
third  trial  was  conducted  during  the  winter  with  four  pure- 
bred Short-horns  in  each  lot,  averaging  200  pounds  when  the 
trial  began.     From  thirteen  to  twenty  pounds  of  skim  milk  were 
fed  to  each  calf  daily  in  these  trials.     The  calves  in  Lot  I  were 

1  Molkereiwesen,  p.  368;  Milch  Zeitung,  1875,  p.  1481. 

*  Milch  Zeitung,  1880,  p.  214. 

8  Der  Laudbote,  1887,  No.  14,  and  v.  d.  Goltz,  Landw.  3,  p.  420. 


336 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


fed  oil  meal  and  milk.  Lot  II  received  ground  oats  and  milk, 
the  hulls  of  the  oats  having  been  sieved  from  the  ground  grain 
in  the  second  and  third  trials.  Lot  III  received  corn  meal  with 
about  10  per  cent,  of  ground  flax  seed  additional.  A  summary 
of  the  trials  appears  in  the  following  table: 

Summary  of  three   trials   with   separator  skim  milk  and  various 
meals  —  Iowa  Station. 


Kind  of  feed. 

No.  of  calves. 

Total  feed  given. 

Total 
gain. 

Av. 
daily 
gain 
per 
head. 

Dry 
matter 
per  100 
pounds 
of  gain. 

Cost  of 
feed 
per 
pound 
of 
gain. 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Lot     I.    Oil     meal 

8 

9.168  Ibs.  sep.  milk  ... 
1,728  Ibs.  hay  

Lbs. 
873 

Lbs. 
1.47 

Lbs. 
339 

Cts. 
2.8 

1:2.6 

703  Ibs.  oil  meal  

Lot   II.    Oat    meal 

8 

9,160  Ibs.  sep.  milk  ... 
1,730  Ibs.  hay  

927" 

1.57 

337 

2.1 

1:3.6 

875  Ibs.  oat  meal  

Lot  III.  Corn  meal. 

9,168  Ibs.  sep.  milk  ... 
1,731  Ibs.  hay  

flax      seed      and 
milk  ..... 

8 

772  Ibs.  corn  meal... 

925 

1.56 

330 

2.2 

1  :  4 

84  Ibs.  flax  seed  

Commenting  on  the  experiments,  Curtiss  writes:  "  The  results 
of  all  the  investigations  made  at  this  Station  strongly  indicate  that 
it  is  not  only  unnecessary  but  poor  economy  and  poor  practice  in 
feeding  to  use  a  highly  nitrogenous  product  like  oil  meal  in  com- 
bination with  separator  skim  milk.  The  practice  has  neither 
logical  reason  nor  scientific  theory  for  its  support;  and  in  the  corn- 
belt  states,  with  their  surplus  of  corn  and  oats,  there  is  no  neces- 
sity for  the  purchase  of  a  high-priced  nitrogenous  product  to  be 
used  in  supplementing  the  skim- milk  ration."  (199) 

520.  Gravity  versus  separator  skim  milk. —  Thirty-two  calves 
less  than  10  weeks  old,  weighing  on  an  average  130  pounds,  were 
fed  from  30  to  50  days  on  three  Danish  estates  under  the  direction 
of  the  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station. 1  The  calves  received 
about  20  pounds  of  separator  skim  milk  daily  per  head  in  addi- 
tion to  oats,  peanut  meal,  corn,  barley  or  hay,  singly  or  combined. 
The  average  weight  of  the  calves  at  the  beginning  of  the  experi- 

1  Kept.  1894 


Calf  Rearing.  337 

ment  and  the  gain  made,  together  with  the  fat  content  of  the 

skim  milk,  are  given  in  the  following  table: 

Gravity  Separator 

skim  milk,  skim  milk. 

Average  weight  per  head  at  beginning,  pounds. ...    130 . 2  132 . 7 

Daily  gain  per  head,  pounds 1.50  1.43 

Difference  in  favor  of  gravity  skim  milk,  pounds.          .07  

Fat  content  of  the  milk,  per  cent 60  .14 

From  the  above  we  learn  that  where  Che  gravity  skim  milk  pro- 
duced a  gain  of  1.5  pounds  per  day,  the  calves  fed  on  separator 
skim  milk  gained  1.43  pounds  daily.  When  the  value  of  the 
excess  of  butter  fat  left  in  the  gravity  skim  milk  is  taken  into  con- 
sideration, it  will  be  seen  that  the  increase  in  weight  of  the  calves 
was  of  much  less  value  than  the  butter  which  the  excess  fat  would 
have  made. 

521.  Feeding  cod  liver  oil,  oleomargarine  and  sugar. —  At  the 
Massachusetts  Station,  Lindsey1  found  that  cod  liver  oil  added  to 
the  skim  milk  fed  to  calves  proved  unsatisfactory,  the  animals 
sometimes  refusing  the  food  containing  it.     A  cheap  grade  of 
oleomargarine  was  heated  to  110  degrees  Fahr.,  and  mixed  with 
the  skim,  milk  by  churning.     It  was  found  that  one  ounce  of  oil 
per  quart  of  skim  milk  was  all  that  the  calf  could  take  with- 
out producing  indigestion.     Cotton-seed  oil  and  corn  oil  to  the 
amount  of  one-half  ounce  per  quart  of  milk  were  fed  without 
bad  effect.     A  calf  fed  skim  milk  to  which  was  added  one  part 
oleo  and  two  parts  brown  sugar  gave  good  results,  making  a  gain 
of  over  two  pounds  daily,  with  the  kidneys  well  covered  with 
fat.     Calves  fed  on  this  artificial  milk  were  superior  to  those  re- 
ceiving skim  milk,  but  not  equal  in  fatness  to  sucking  calves. 

522.  Flax  seed. —  Behrens  found  that  calves  receiving  about 
one-half  pound  of  flax  seed  per  day  with  skim  milk  made  an 
average  gain  of  1.85  pounds  per  day,  while  those  receiving  skim 
milk  only,  gained  1.55  pounds. 

523.  Whey  for  calf  feeding. —  Graef, 2  testing  the  relative  value 
of  whey  and  skim  milk,  secured  a  gain  of  two  pounds  per  day 
with  calves  fed  on  skim  milk,  while  those  fed  whey  gained  from 
1  to  1.4  pounds  only.    The  quantities  of  food  are  not  stated.  (359) 

i  Repts.  1893-94. 

*  Milch  Zeitung,  1880,  p.  143. 


338  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

524.  Producing  veal  on  pastures. — Krafft1  reports  the  fatten- 
ing of  calves  on  the  low  lands  of  the  Schleswig-Holstein  marshes, 
where  veal  of  excellent  quality  is  produced.     One  hectare  (2.47 
acres)  of  pasture  is  considered  necessary  to  produce  600  kilo- 
grams (1,320  pounds)  of  gain,  or  534  pounds  of  gain  per  acre. 
The  flesh  of  such  calves  cannot  be  "veal"  in  the  usual  accepta- 
tion of  that  term. 

525.  Gain  from  skim  milk  fed  calves  and  pigs. —  Meischmann, 2 
reviewing  the  increase  of  calves  and  swine  fed  skim  milk,  con- 
cludes that  calves  make  greater  gains  from  a  given  quantity  of 
skim  milk  than  do  pigs.   (741,  869-71,  886-8) 

II.  Bearing  the  Calf. 

526.  Feeding  for  beef. — Where  beef  is  the  principal  object,  the 
calf  is  usually  allowed  to  draw  its  milk  supply  direct  from  the 
dam.     In  such  cases  few  precautions  are  necessary,  the  most  im- 
portant being  to  see  that  the  young  thing  does  not  get  too  much 
milk,  as  this  causes  indigestion.     If  the  calf  remains  with  the 
dam,  the  udder  of  the  cow  should  be  stripped  clean  night  and 
morning;  neglect  may  result  in  soreness  to  the  teats  and  udder, 
ending  in  destroying  the  usefulness  of  the  dam.     If  the  calf  is 
getting  too  much  feed,  the  supply  should  be  diminished  by  strip- 
ping the  cow  after  allowing  it  to  take  only  part  of  the  milk, 
remembering  that  the  last  milk  yielded  by  the  cow  is  the 
richest  in  fat,  (615)  and  that  it  is  the  richness  as  well  as  the 
quantity  that  causes  trouble.     Where  calves  are  separated  from 
their  dams,  at  first  allow  them  to  suck  three  times  daily,  soon  re- 
ducing to  twice  a  day.     The  greatest  danger  in  this  system  comes 
at  weaning  time,  when,  if  the  calf  has  not  been  properly  taught 
to  eat  solid  food,  it  is  apt  to  pine  and  shrink  in  weight,  or  at  least 
make  little  gain.     To  avoid  this,  teach  it  to  eat  a  little  grain 
daily,  using  ground  corn,  bran,  oil  meal  and  hay. 

The  first  departure  from  the  primitive  system  above  described 
is  putting  two  calves  with  each  cow,  which  is  practicable  and  de- 
sirable where  the  cow  yields  a  good  flow  of  milk. 
.   The  sucking  calf  should  gain  3  pounds  per  day  for  the  first 
month,  2.5  pounds  for  the  second  and  2  pounds  for  subsequent 

*Landw.,  3,  p.  163.  *  Molkereiwesen,  p.  373, 


Calf  Rearing.  339 

months.  Hunt*  s  experiments  show  that  calves  given  full  milk  from 
the  pail  require  from  8  to  9  pounds  of  whole  milk  for  each  pound  of 
gain,  and  make  a  gain  of  over  1. 75  pounds  daily.  While  in  ttie 
beef  districts  the  calf  will  be  allowed  to  take  its  own  milk,  there 
are  sections  where  the  stockman  finds  it  more  profitable  to  sell 
the  fat  of  milk  in  the  form  of  butter  and  use  substitutes  for  the 
fat  together  with  skim  milk  as  feed  for  the  calf.  This  system 
involves  labor,  skill  and  watchfulness  on  the  part  of  the  feeder, 
but  its  success  has  been  demonstrated  on  many  farms. 

After  weaning,  good  growth  will  be  continued  by  using  oats 
and  corn  with  a  little  oil  meal,  supplying  at  all  times  plenty  of 
bright  hay  or  fodder  corn.  Nothing  excels  pasture  grass  for  flesh- 
building  with  the  beef  calf,  and  to  approximate  this  in  winter 
the  stockman  should  have  roots  or  silage  in  order  to  keep  the 
young  animals  in  a  sappy,  growing  condition.  The  stockman 
should  not  forget  that  the  "calf  fat"  or  first  fat  of  the  calf  must 
not  be  lost  if  beef  is  the  ultimate  object. 

527.  Rearing  the  dairy  calf. —  The  fat  of  milk  has  too  high  a 
value  with  the  dairyman  to  be  used  for  calf  feeding,  and  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  dairy  stock  of  the  highest  quality  can  be 
produced  from  feeding  skim  milk.  Under  this  system  the  calf 
is  allowed  to  draw  milk  from  the  dam  for  two  or  three  days,  early 
weaning  being  preferable  for  both  cow  and  calf.  The  calf  should 
always  get  the  first  milk  (colostrum)  of  the  cow,  as  this  is  neces- 
sary for  properly  clearing  the  bowels  and  starting  the  digest- 
ive functions.  (355)  Warm  full  milk  is  fed  from  the  pail  not 
less  than  three  times  daily  until  the  calf  is  two  or  three  weeks 
old,  after  which  skim  milk  is  gradually  substituted.  From  one 
to  two  weeks  should  pass  in  changing  from  full  milk  to  skim 
milk.  Oil  meal  converted  to  jelly  by  adding  boiling  water  is 
relished  by  young  calves,  which  soon  learn  to  look  for  it  at 
the  bottom  of  the  pail.  At  first  a  tablespoonful  of  oil  meal  is 
sufficient  for  a  fed.  This  may  be  increased  gradually,  as  the  calf 
grows,  to  half  a  pound  per  day.  Curtiss  has  shown  that  corn 
meal  is  an  excellent  and  cheap  addition  to  milk  for  calvesj  oats, 
shorts  or  other  grain  feeds  may  also  be  used. 
i  The  supply  of  full  milk  for  the  calf  should  be  not  over  10 
pounds  at  first,  and  end  with  15  pounds  daily.  The  skim  milk 


340  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

should  not  exceed  18  pounds  daily  until  the  calf  is  five  weeks 
old,  and  only  in  rare  cases  should  an  amount  beyond  24  pounds 
be  given.  Many  calves  are  destroyed  by  being  overfed  with  skim 
milk  by  persons  who  act  as  though  they  thought  to  make  up  the 
lacking  qualities  of  this  feed  by  giving  more  of  it.  Young  calves 
should  be  fed  not  less  than  three  times  daily  until  four  or  five  weeks 
old.  The  milk  should  be  heated  to  blood  temperature,  and  the 
careful  feeder  will  use  a  thermometer  to  ascertain  the  proper  degree. 

Where  calves  do  poorly  on  skim  milk,  the  results  are  charge- 
able to  the  abuse  of  that  feed.  Too  large  a  supply  of  milk,  in- 
frequent and  irregular  feeding,  milk  too  cold  for  digestion,  and 
sour  feeding-pails,  are  the  causes  of  nine-tenths  of  the  trouble. 

The  calf  is  best  taught  to  drink  by  using  the  fingers.  The 
various  devices  for  calf  feeding  are  usually  unsatisfactory  and 
often  dangerous  because  of  accumulations  of  milk  in  concealed 
places,  which  cannot  be  washed  out,  but  remain  to  become 
putrid  and  disease-breeding.  The  calf  is  taught  to  eat  grain  by 
placing  a  handful  of  whole  or  ground  oats,  shorts  or  other  feed 
in  its  mouth  immediately  after  supplying  the  milk.  Allow  no 
more  grain  in  the  feed  box  than  will  be  wholly  consumed  between 
feeds.  Hay  from  early -cut  grass  or  clover  should  also  be  supplied. 
Calves  should  be  tied  if  they  annoy  one  another.  Properly  fed 
on  skim  milk,  with  oil  meal,  corn,  oats  or  other  grain  additional, 
the  careful  feeder  can  count  on  a  gain  with  calves  of  from  one 
and  a  half  to  two  pounds  per  day  for  the  first  four  months. 

In  rearing  calves  intended  for  beef  production  there  is  little 
danger  in  crowding  them  rapidly,  every  pound  gained  bringing 
the  animal  so  much  nearer  the  desired  end.  The  dairy  calf  should 
be  fed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  insure  a  steady  growth  without 
tendency  to  become  fat.  The  food  should  be  nutritious,  but  not 
concentrated  in  character.  Clover  hay,  corn  stover,  and  silage 
without  much  corn  in  it,  with  a  little  straw,  should  constitute  the 
roughage.  Bran,  barley  and  oats  are  excellent  for  the  small 
allowance  of  grain  required.  A  calf  intended  for  a  model  dairy 
cow  should  not  gain  over  one  and  one-half  pounds  per  day  for  the 
first  four  months  and  less  thereafter. 

528.  Whey. —  In  the  cheese  districts,  calves  are  frequently  raised 
jipon  whey,  which  feed  is  a  poor  substitute  for  even  skim  milk. 


Calf  Bearing.  841 

When  used,  whey  should  be  fed  in  not  too  large  quantity  and 
amends  made  for  the  abstracted  constituents  by  the  addition  of 
oil  meal,  ground  oats,  etc.  Care  should  be  taken  to  feed  the 
whey  while  as  nearly  sweet  as  possible,  and  all  vessels  holding  it 
should  be  scalded  daily  so  as  to  be  free  from  a  sour  taint.  While 
none  too  good  in  itself,  any  nutritive  qualities  whey  may  possess 
are  rendered  of  still  less  worth  by  allowing  it  to  ferment  or  by 
feeding  in  dirty  vessels.  (359) 

529.  Hay  tea. —  Stewart1  gives  the  following  experience  with  a 
hay -tea  ration  for  calves:     "This  old  expedient  to  rear  calves 
without  milk  had  an  excellent  basis,  as  do  most  common  prac- 
tices.    The  soluble  nutritive  constituents  of  the  hay  are  extracted 
by  boiling,   (53)  and  this  extract  contains  all  the  food  elements 
required  to  grow  the  animal,  besides  being  as  digestible  as  milk. 
If  the  hay  is  cut  early,  when  it  has  most  soluble  matter,  and  is 
of  good  quality,  the  tea  will  grow  good  calves,  but  this  extract 
frequently  has  too  small  a  proportion  of  albuminous  and  fatty 
matter.     Yet,  if  the  hay  tea  is  boiled  down  so  as  not  to  contain  too 
much  water  for  the  dry  substance,  calves  will  usually  thrive  upon 
it.     We  tried  an  experiment  by  feeding  two  gallons  of  hay  tea,  in 
which  one-fourth  of  a  pound  of  flax  seed  and  one-fourth  of  a  pound 
of  wheat  middlings  had  been  boiled,  to  each  of  five  calves  thirty 
days  old.     This  experiment  was  continued  sixty  days,  with  a 
gradual  increase,  during  the  last  thirty  days,  of  the  middlings  to 
one  pound  per  day.     These  calves  did  remarkably  well,  gaining 
an  average  of  a  little  over  two  pounds  per  head  per  day." 

530.  Feed  and  care  after  weaning. —  With  calves  properly  bred 
for  the  intended  purpose  —  thrifty,  fat  and  sleek- coated  if  de- 
signed for  beef  production,  and  in  fair  flesh,  with  a  bright  eye, 
if  intended  for  dairying  —  the  foundation  of  a  good  herd  is  laid. 
The  stockman  should  always  bear  in  mind  that  gains  are  never 
so  cheaply  made,  so  far  as  feed  is  concerned,  as  with  the  young 
animal,  and  for  this  reason,  if  no  other,  it  should  be  pushed  ahead 
as  rapidly  as  is  consistent  with  the  end  in  view. 

The  table  of  feeding  stuffs  (349)  shows  that  milk  contains  a  large 
proportion  of  protein  for  muscle-making  as  well  as  ash  for  building 
1  Feeding  Animals,  p.  246. 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 

the "  framework  of  "the !  young.  In  the  composition  of  milk  — 
Nature's  food  for  the  young  —  we  have  a  guide  to  the  formation, 
of  rations  for  young,  growing  animals.  Pasture  grass  is  also  rich, 
in  protein,  and  should  be  the  main  reliance  when  available.  Oil 
meal  and  oats,  mixed  with  corn,  are  the  best  concentrates  for 
growing  beef  animals,  while  some  oil  meal,  together  with  oats, 
shorts  and  bran,  with  ample  roughage,  are  most  desirable  for 
those  of  the  dairy  type.  Counteract  the  tendency  of  grain  feeds 
to  make  rigid,  hard  flesh  by  the  use  of  pasture  grass  in  summer 
and  roots  or  silage  in  winter.  Always  keep  the  young  things  in  a 
sappy,  growing  condition  For  roughage,  aside  from  pasture  and 
silage,  use  corn  stalks,  clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  these  two  latter  feeds 
being  rich  in  protein,  for  building  the  muscular  system.  A  liberal 
amount  of  bulky  feed  should  always  be  supplied  young  cattle 
to  stimulate  the  growth  of  a  roomy  digestive  tract.  This  is 
especially  important  with  heifers  designed  for  the  dairy.  If  con- 
fined indoors  the  calf  should  have  before  it  at  all  times,  or  atj 
frequent  intervals,  a  sod  of  loamy  earth.  A  double  handful  of 
earth  is  good  if  nothing  better  is  at  hand.  Why  the  calf  should 
crave  earthy  matter  cannot  always  be  explained,  but,  knowing 
the  fact,  let  the  creature  be  supplied  with  this  substance,  feeling 
assured  that  Nature  makes  no  mistake  in  matters  like  this,  even 
if  for  the  present  they  are  beyond  our  understanding. 

531.  Fall  calves. —  Where  cattle  are  reared  under  natural  con- 
ditions, the  rule  that  the  young  be  dropped  in  the  spring  will 
continue,  but  this  practice  is  not  necessarily  the  most  successful 
in  the  older  sections  of  the  country.  Fall-dropped  calves  come 
at  a  time  when  the  little  attentions  they  need  can  easily  be  given, 
and  they  occupy  but  little  space  in  barn  or  shed.  Subsisting  on 
the  mother's  milk,  or  on  skim  milk  with  a  little  grain  and  hay, 
when  spring  comes  the  youngsters  are  large  enough  to  make  good 
use  of  the  pastures,  and  the  result  is  progress  from  the  start, 
until  fall,  when  they  return  to  the  barn  or  shed  large  enough  and 
strong  enough  in  digestion  to  make  good  use  of  the  dry  provender 
necessitated  by  winter  conditions. 


Calf  Rearing.  343 

III.  Feeding  for  Vecd. 

532.  Essentials. —  To  meet  the  highest  requirements  of  the 
market,  veal  should  riot  only  carry  a  considerable  amount  of  fat, 
but  the  flesh  must  show  to  the  practiced  eye  that  no  coarse  food 
has  been  eaten  by  the  calf  from  birth  to  the  time  of  slaughter. 
For  the  highest  grade  of  veal,  whole  milk  is  the  one  feed  allowed 
and  growth  must  be  pushed  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the  whole  pro- 
cess being  completed  before  there  is  any  tendency  in  the  meat  to 
take  on  the  coarse  character  incident  to  the  beef  period.     The 
demand  for  fine  veal  is  growing,  and  can  be  greatly  increased  by 
supplying  a  high-grade  product.     In  this  line  of  meat  production 
the  farmers  in  parts  of  Europe  are  far  in  the  lead.     Dutch  butchers 
are  extremely  expert  in  judging  whether  the  calf  has  received 
any  other  feed  than  whole  milk.     Only  when  whole  milk  has 
been  used  exclusively  is  the  white  of  the  eye  of  the  veal  calf  free 
from  any  yellow  tint,  and  the  insides  of  the  eye-lids,  lips  and  nose 
perfectly  white. 

533.  A  Scotch  system  of  veal  making. —  At  Strathaven,  Scot- 
land, a  region  noted  for  the  excellence  of  its  veal, l  the  calves  are 
fed  on  fresh  cow's  milk,  the  youngest  receiving  that  first  drawn 
from  the  cows  and  the  older  ones  the  last  and  richer  portion;  (615) 
thus  one  calf  is  often  fed  portions  of  milk  which  come  from  two 
or  three  cows.     After  the  third  week  they  receive  as  much  milk 
twice  a  day  as  they  will  take.     After  feeding  they  are  bedded, 
the  stable  being  kept  rather  warm  and  dark.     Lumps  of  chalk 
are  placed  where  the  calves  have  access  to  them.     The  fattening 
period  continues  from  five  to  seven  weeks,  when  a  dressed  weight 
of  100  to  120  pounds  is  secured. 

In  the  vicinity  of  London  veal  calves  are  fed  for  about  ten 
weeks  in  isolated  pens,  as  in  Holland.  They  ordinarily  dress  140 
pounds. 

534.  The  Dutch  system. —  In  Holland,  where  unusually  heavy, 
well-fatted  calves  are  a  specialty,  the  following  practices  are  com- 
mon, according  to  Forssell:2  As  soon  as  dropped  the  calf  is  placed 
in  a  stall  which  is  so  narrow  that  it  cannot  turn  around  though  it 

1  Molk.  Zeit.,  1894,  p.  547. 

*Fodret  och  Utfodringen,  1893,  p.  155. 


344  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

can  lie  and  stand  comfortably.  The  floor  of  the  stall  is  of  lattice 
work  or  perforated  boards  and  littered  daily  so  that  the  animal 
has  a  perfectly  dry  berth.  The  stalls  are  6.5  feet  long  by  1.6 
broad  and  about  5  feet  high.  The  calf  barn  is  kept  dark.  (89) 
Twice  or  three  times  daily  the  calves  get  as  much  milk  as  they 
will  drink,  and  during  the  first  fourteen  days  only  the  dam's  milk 
is  fed.  Eggs  or  other  by-feeds  are  not  given.  The  calf  consumes 
about  34  pounds  of  full  milk  daily  on  the  average  for  the  whole 
fattening  period  of  ten  or  twelve  weeks,  at  which  time  the  veal  is 
considered  to  be  at  its  best.  To  prevent  calves  from  eating  feed 
other  than  milk  they  are  muzzled  if  straw  or  other  roughage 
is  used  for  bedding.  Finely-ground  shells  and  sand  are  given  to 
prevent  scouring.  The  dressed  weight  ranges  from  187  to  220 
pounds,  or,  according  to  Eost, l  from  220  to  330  pounds.  One 
pound  of  gain  is  made  in  the  beginning  from  eight  pounds  of 
milk,  and  toward  the  close  from  twelve  pounds,  the  average 
being  ten  pounds. 2 

The  fat  calf  dresses  from  55  to  60  per  cent,  of  its  live  weight. 


iMolk.  Zeit.,  1894,  p.  547. 

*  Kraft,  Landwirtschaft,  III,  p.  163. 


CHAPTER  XXL 


RESULTS  OF  STEER-FEEDING  TRIALS  AT  THE  STATIONS. 

I.  Findings  with  Various  Feeds. 

535.  Difficulties  of  steer  fattening. —  Among  farm  animals  there 
is  none  so  difficult  to  experiment  with,  all  things  considered,  as 
the  fattening  steer.     In  this  work  the  returns  for  the  feed  supplied 
are  measured  by  the  gain  of  the  animal  from  day  to  day.     While 
at  first  it  is  not  difficult  to  increase  the  weight  of  the  steer,  the 
problem  is  far  from  easy  when  the  final  stages  of  the  fattening 
period  are  reached.     The  animal  then  has  a  dainty  appetite  and 
is  easily  thrown  off  feed  by  small  variations  in  the  character  or 
amount  of  the  provender  supplied.     Other  influences  also,  such  as 
the  weather,  surroundings,  attendants,  etc.,  go  to  produce  favor- 
able or  unfavorable  results.     Considering  the  difficulties,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  many  of  the  early  feeding  trials  with  steers  by  our 
Stations  have  not  furnished  data  which  will  stand  the  test  of  time. 
Some  good  work  has  been  done,  however,  as  these  pages  show. 

536.  Ear  corn  compared  with  corn  meal. — At  the  Kansas  Sta- 
tion, 1  Georgeson  compared  ear  corn  and  corn  meal  for  feeding 
steers,  with  the  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Feeding  corn  and  corn  meal  to  steers  —  Kansas  Station. 


Feed. 

Av.  wt. 

of  steer 
at  be- 

Total 
grain 

Fodder 

Total 

Feedf 
pound 

or  100 
3  gain. 

gin- 
ning. 

eaten. 

eaten. 

gain. 

Grain. 

Stover. 

First  trial. 
Corn  meal. 

Lbs. 
1  211 

Lbs. 
3  575 

Lbs. 
940 

Lbs. 
268 

Lbs. 
1  334 

Lbs. 
350 

Ear  corn  

1  215 

4  027 

1  341 

284 

1,418 

472 

Second  trial. 
Corn  meal. 

1  129 

2  646 

607 

290 

911 

209 

Ear  corn      ...   . 

1  158 

3  223 

535 

230 

1  402 

232 

Buls.  34,  60. 


346 


and  Feeding. 


Three-year-old  Kansas  range  steers  were  fed  in  the  first  trial 
and  two-  and  three -year- old  grade  Short-horns  in  the  second.  In 
each  case  the  steers  were  divided  into  two  lots  of  five  each,  one 
receiving  ear  corn  and  stover  and  the  other  corn  meal  and  stover. 
The  first  trial  lasted  six  months  and  the  second  five  months. 

By  the  table  we  are  shown  that  the  steers  fed  ear  corn  gained 
somewhat  more  than  those  fed  corn  mealj  they  required,  however, 
eighty-four  pounds  or  six  per  cent,  more  grain. 

Commenting  upon  the  first  trial  as  above  reported,  Georgeson 
writes  as  follows:  "This  is  not  a  very  favorable  showing  for  corn 
meal,  and  I  confess  the  result  is  contrary  to  my  expectations.  A 
considerable  percentage  of  the  whole  corn  passes  through  the 
animal  undigested,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  digestive  juices 
could  act  to  better  advantage  on  the  fine  corn  meal  than  on  the 
partially-masticated  grains  of  corn  and  extract  more  nourishment 
from  it,  but  apparently  this  is  not  the  case.77 

In  the  second  trial  there  was  a  saving  of  35  per  cent,  of  the 
corn  by  grinding,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  extreme  saving 
possible  in  such  feeding.  This  result  is  the  largest  saving  of  grain 
by  grinding  yet  reported  by  any  of  the  Stations  so  far  as  the  writer 
is  able  to  learn.  (156,  382,  582,  848) 

537.  Soaked  corn. —  At  the  Kansas  Station,  *  Georgeson  divided 
a  bunch  of  ten  thrifty  steers  into  two  lots  of  five  each,  giving  the 
first  corn  which  had  been  soaked  until  it  had  begun  to  soften, 
while  the  second  received  dry  corn.  Both  lots  were  confined  in 
open  yards  with  sheds  for  shelter,  and  received  the  same  rough- 
age. All  statements  of  the  corn  fed  are  based  on  the  weight  of 
dry  corn.  The  trial  began  November  7,  lasting  five  months,  with 
the  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Results  obtained  when  feeding  soaked  and  dry  shelled  corn  —  Kansas 

Station. 


Feed. 

Av.  wt. 

of  steers. 

Total 
corn 
eaten. 

Total 
fodder 
eaten. 

Whole 
gain. 

AV.  gain 
per 
head. 

Grain 
per  100 
pounds 
gain. 

Fodder 
per  100 
pounds 
gain. 

Dry  corn             .... 

Lbs. 
1  033 

Lbs. 
16  244 

Lbs. 
8  127 

Lbs. 

1  468 

Lbs. 
294 

Lbs. 
1  105 

Lbs. 

564 

Soaked  corn  ..... 

1,033 

15,787 

8,340 

1,632 

326 

938 

512 

Bui.  47. 


Results  of  Steer-feeding  friah'at  the  Stations. 


34? 


The  table  shows  that  the  steers  fed  soaked  corn  did  not  consume 
quite  as  much  grain  as  the  other  lot,  yet  made  a  better  gain.  In 
this  trial  there  was  a  saving  of  fifteen  per  cent,  by  soaking  shelled 
corn.  (375) 

538.  Gain  of  shotes  following  steers. —  Fortunately  Georgeson 
placed  eight  thrifty  shotes,  averaging  eighty -eight  pounds  per 
head,  with  each  lot  of  steers,  to  pick  up  the  corn  voided  in  the 
droppings.  At  first  they  subsisted  entirely  on  such  corn,  but 
later,  when  they  had  grown  larger,  they  were  supplied  additional 
grain  from  a  trough,  with  the  following  results: 

Extra  feed  and  gain  of  shotes  following  steers  fed  soaked  and  dry 
corn  —  Kansas  Station. 


Shotes  following  steers  fed  — 

Extra 
corn  fed. 

Total  gain 
of  lot. 

Com  fed 
extra  per 
100  Ibs  gain. 

Dry  corn  j..  .'.... 

Lbs. 
1,272 

Lbs. 

747      , 

Lbs. 
170 

1  272 

635 

'   200 

•                       : 

i 

The  above  shows  that  the  shotes  secured  jinore  than  one-half 
their  feed  from  the  droppings,  and  that  the  drbppings  from  steers 
getting  dry  corn  gave  the  best  returns. 

By  combining  the  data  of  feed  and  gain  with  both  hogs  and 
steers,  we  ascertain  the  grain  required  for  the  combined  gain  as 
follows: 

Gain  of  steers  and  shotes  when  shotes  followed  fattening  steers  — 

Kansas  Station. 


Total  grain 
fed  to  steers 
and  shotes. 

Total  gain 
of  steers 
and  shotes. 

Corn  for  100 
pounds 
gain. 

'                                                                 ' 

Steers  fed  dry  corn,  with  shotes  fol- 
lowing   

Lbs. 
17,516 

Lbs. 
2,215 

Lbs. 
791 

Steers  fed  soaked  corn,  with  shotes 
following  '. 

17,059 

2,267 

:    752     ,, 

Combining  the  feed  for  steers  and  shotes  and  likewise  the 
gains  of  both,  we  find  that  791  pounds  of  corn  were  required  for 


348 


feed*  and  feeding. 


100  pounds  of  gain  of  steers  and  shotes  where  the  steers  were  fed 
dry  corn,  and  752  pounds  of  grain  for  100  pounds  of  gain  with 
steers  and  shotes  where  the  steers  were  fed  soaked  corn.  This 
shows  a  net  saving,  by  soaking  corn  for  steers,  of  about  five  per 
cent.  (583,  634,  880-81) 

539.  Corn  and  cob  meal. —  For  information  on  this  subject  we 
turn  to  Shelton's  investigations  conducted  at  the  Kansas  Agri- 
cultural College1  during  1884-85.  Ten  steers  were  used  each 
year,  the  trial  in  1884  lasting  140  days,  and  that  in  1885,  150 
days.  In  each  trial  the  steers  were  divided  into  two  lots  of  five 
each;  corn  and  cob  meal  was  fed  to  one  lot  and  corn  meal  to  the 
other,  the  roughage  in  both  cases  consisting  of  oat  straw,  orchard- 
grass  hay  and  clover  hay. 

Eesults  obtained  in  feeding  corn  meal  and  corn  and  cob  meal  to  steers  — 
Kansas  Agricultural  College. 


Av.  wt. 

A  TT 

Meal 

Av. 

Feed. 

of  steers 
at  be- 

Total 
feed. 

Total 
gain. 

-A.V. 

gain  per 

per  100 
IDS.  in- 

daily 
gain  per 

ginning 

crease. 

steer. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Experiment,  1884. 

Corn  and  cob  meal. 

815 

11,565 

1,580 

316 

732 

2.25 

847 

11,612 

1,460 

292 

795 

2.08 

Experiment,  1885. 

Corn  and  cob  meal. 

1,128 

12,918 

1,025 

205 

1,260 

1.44 

Corn  meal. 

1  150 

12  654 

1,085 

217 

1,166 

1.36 

It  is  shown  that  the  corn  and  cob  meal  gave  the  best  daily  gain 
in  both  cases.  In  one  instance  less  corn  and  cob  meal  was  re- 
quired for  a  given  gain,  while  in  the  other  more  was  required. 
The  average  of  the  two  trials  shows  that  a  pound  of  corn  and  cob 
meal  is  equal  to  a  pound  of  pure  corn  meal  in  steer  feeding. 

In  explanation  of  the  marked  difference  in  the  amount  of  feed 
required  for  a  given  gain  in  these  two  trials,  we  have  the  follow- 
ing statement  concerning  the  cattle:  "  The  steers  of  1883-84  were 
a  thin,  half- grown  lot  of  ' natives,7  while  those  in  use  in  1884-85 
were  high-grade  Short-horns,  mature  and  full -fleshed  at  the  start." 
The  second  lot  was  also  fed  for  a  longer  period.  (158,  382,  633) 

1Eepts.  Prof.  Agr.,  1884-85. 


Results  of  Steer-feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations. 


349 


540.  Corn,  cob  and  husk. —  At  the  Texas  Station,  *  Curtis  fed 
corn,  cob  and  husk  ground  coarsely  to  three  steers,  and  coarsely- 
ground  shelled  corn  to  three  others,  for  a  period  of  seventy  days, 
with  the  following  results:  ; 

Feeding  ground  com,  cob  and  husk  in  comparison  with  ground  corn  to 
steers  —  Texas  Station. 


Feed. 

Total 
feed. 

Total 
gain. 

Av.  gain 
per  day. 

Meal  for 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Lot   I. 

Lot  II. 

Corn,  cob  and  husk  meal.. 
Coarse  corn  meal  

Lbs. 

2,395 
1,864 

Lbs. 

481 
465 

Lbs. 

2.29 
2.21 

Lbs. 

498 
400 

The  table  shows  that  where  400  pounds  of  clear  corn  meal  gave 
100  pounds  of  increase,  there  were  required  498  pounds  of  husk, 
cob  and  corn  together.  The  weight  of  the  cob  and  husk  was  72 
pounds  for  each  56  pounds  of  shelled  corn.  Omitting  the  cob  and 
husk,  it  is  found  that  100  pounds  of  gain  was  made  from  388 
pounds  of  meal  plus  the  cob  and  husk.  This  shows  a  saving  of 
three  per  cent,  by  feeding  the  cob  and  husk  with  the  grain. 

541.  Time  required  for  corn  to  pass  through  the  steer. —  At  the 
Kansas  Station, 2  Georgeson  determined  the  time  required  for  corn 
to  pass  through  the  alimentary  canal  of  the  fattening  steer  in  the 
following  manner:    To  five  steers  getting  white  corn,  50  pounds 
of  red  corn  grains  were  given  in  three  feeds  on  January  loth,  viz. : 
12  M.,  3  P.  M.  and  6  P.  M.     At  9  A.  M.  on  the  16th  the  red 
kernels  fed  the  day  before  began  to  appear  in  the  manure.     The 
maximum  number  of  kernels  of  red  corn  was  reached  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  17th,  when  they  began  to  decrease,  until  the  19th, 
when  only  a  few  kernels  were  found  on  washing  the  droppings 
of  each  lot. 

542.  Amount  of  corn  passing  through  steers  unbroken. —  When 
feeding  dry  and  soaked  corn  to  steers  with  shotes  following  as 
described  in  Articles  537-38,  Georgeson3  determined  the  quantity 
of  corn  in  the  voidings. 

During  28  days  five  steers  were  fed  3,045  pounds  (weight  be- 

1  Bui.  2.  *  Bui.  47,  •  Loc,  cit 


350 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


fore  soaking)  of  soaked  corn,  and  during  that  period  339  pounds 
of  grains  of  corn  (weight  after  drying)  were  washed  from  the 
yoidings.  This  is  11  per  cent,  of  the  total  corn  consumed  by  the 
steers  during  the  period.  Another  lot  of  five  steers  was  fed  3,060 
pounds  of  dry  shelled  corn,  the  voidings  from  which  gave  486 
pounds  of  corn,  or  nearly  16  per  cent,  of  unbroken  corn.  The 
hogs  following  steers  getting  dry  corn  made  greater  gains  than 
those  following  steers  getting  soaked  corn.  The  explanation  is  in 
the  above  percentages. 

The  corn  grains  which  had  passed  through  the  steers  were 
found  to  contain  between  55  and  60  per  cent,  water,  those  which 
had  been  soaked  previous  to  feeding  having  somewhat  more  than 
the  other.  The  corn  which  had  been  fed  dry  was  found  to  ab- 
sorb still  more  water  when  soaked,  showing  that  it  had  not  been 
fully  saturated,  although  it  had  passed  the  whole  length  of  the 
alimentary  canal. 

543.  Wheat  meal.— At  the  Ohio  Station,1  Thorne  and  Hick- 
man,  testing  wheat  meal  in  opposition  to  corn  meal  during  two 
feeding  trials,  secured  the  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Feeding  corn  meal  and  wheat  meal  to  steers  —  Ohio  Station. 


Dry  sub- 

Feed. 

No.  of  cat- 
tle fed. 

Daily  gain 
per  steer. 

stance  con- 
sumed per 
pound  of 

Cost  of  feed 
per  pound 
of  gain. 

gam. 

,     Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Cents.  I 

Test,  1894. 

.• 

Corn  meal           .. 

8 

2  07 

10  31 

7  79 

^Vheat  meal.    . 

7 

1  98 

10  02 

7  75 

Test,  1895. 

Com  meal.     ....... 

4 

2  02 

9.90 

7.01 

\V  heat  meal.  

4 

1  70 

11.78  , 

8.95 

It  is  shown  in  both  trials  that  the  steers  fed  corn  meal  made 
the  highest  average  daily  gain,  and  made  their  gain  also  upon 
less  dry  matter  than  the  others.  At  prevailing  prices  for  corn 
and  wheat,  it  is  evident  that  corn  is  the  cheaper  feed.  No  doubt 
some  wheat  meal  may  be  used  with  satisfactory  results  in  steer 

*  Bui.  60. 


Results  of  Steer-feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations.  351 

feeding,  but  it  should  not  constitute  the  exclusive  grain  feed 
unless  prices  rule  lower  than  for  corn.   (166—8) 

544.  Bran. —  An  experiment  is  reported  from  Minneapolis1  in 
which  the  lightest  bran  made  at  the  Pillsbury  A  mill  was  fed 
with  hay  to  fifteen  common  steers  for  a  period  of  four  months. 
Each  animal  was  fed  separately,  all  feed  being  weighed.     The 
steers  were  allowed  exercise  in  a  small  yard.     The  steers  weighed 
from  800  to  1,100  pounds  at  the  time  the  experiment  began,  in 
May,  1886.     The  following  summarizes  the  results: 

Pounds. 

Total  bran  fed . 24,064 

Total  hay  fed 28,925 

Total  gain  in  weight,  15  steers 3,545 

Average  gain  in  weight  (4  months). 236 

Feed  for  100  pounds  gain jBran.... 

These  satisfactory  gains  show  that  bran  may  be  successfully 
used  for  fattening  steers.  (175,  206) 

545.  OH  meal. —  At  the  Kansas  Station, 2  Georgeson  fed  oil  cake 
with  hay  to  three  steers  averaging  1,050  pounds  for  a  period  of 

129  days,  with  the  following  results: 

Pounds. 

Oil  cake  consumed  per  head 1,639 

Hay  consumed  per  head... 1,822 

Average  gain  per  head 224 

Fed  for  one  hundred  pounds  gain {  Oil  meal— 

This  experimenter  concludes:  "The  exclusive  diet  of  oil  cake 
did  not  yield  as  good  results  as  either  the  '  balanced  ration '  or  corn. 
The  animal  organism  appears  to  be  unable  to  make  use  of  so 
highly  concentrated  nitrogenous  food  to  good  advantage.'7 

At  the  Iowa  Station,  Wilson  and  Curtiss3  fed  oil  meal  to  steers 
on  clover  pasture,  securing  a  gain  of  100  pounds  for  each  400 
pounds  of  oil  meal  fed.  Another  group  of  steers  on  a  similar 
pasture  required  532  pounds  of  corn  meal  for  100  pounds  of  gain. 

546.  Gluten  meal. —  At  the  Ohio  Station, 4  Thorne  and  Hick- 
man  used  gluten  meal  during  two  feeding  trials,  in  one  of  which 
oil  meal  was  fed  in  opposition.     In  calculating  the  results,  old- 


1  Fugitive  pamphlet,  published  in  1886. 
I.  20. 


*  Bui.  39.  8  Bui.  20.  *  Bui.  60. 


352  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

process  oil  meal  was  figured  at  $26  per  ton,  and  gluten  meal  at 
$18  per  ton,  the  current  market  prices. 

Feeding  oil  meal  and  gluten  meal  —  Ohio  Station. 


Feed. 

Number 
of  cattle 
compared. 

Daily 

gain 
per 
steer. 

Dry  sub- 
stance 
consumed 
per  pound 
of  gain. 

Cost  of 
feed  per 
pound 
gain. 

Oil  meal  

12 

Lbs. 
1.96 

Lbs. 
10.78 

Cents. 
8.52 

Gluten  meal  

11 

2  11 

10  05 

7  31 

Mixed  meals  with  gluten  meal  
Mixed  meals  without  gluten  meal... 
Mixed  meals  with  gluten  meal  

4 

8 
4 

2.15 
1.98 
2.02 

10.31 
10.10 
9.90 

7.42 
7.49 

7  01 

Mixed  meals  without  gluten  meal... 

4 

2.05 

11.07 

7.40 

It  is  seen  that  gluten  meal  was  a  cheaper  feed  than  oil  meal  at 
the  prices  stated.  Where  gluten  meal  was  fed  with  other  grains, 
it  always  cheapened  the  cost  of  production.  These  experimenters 
conclude:  The  results  warrant  the  statement  that  "  for  fattening 
cattle  these  feeding  stuffs  (gluten  meal  and  oil  meal)  are  approxi- 
mately of  equal  value,  pound  for  pound,  and  that  the  one  which 
can  be  bought  for  the  least  money  is  the  one  to  use."  As  yet 
the  feeding  value  of  this  class  of  corn  by-products  has  been  passed 
unnoticed  by  those  who  fatten  cattle;  if  experience  shall  confirm 
their  worth  as  substitutes  for  oil  meal  in  the  feed  lot  they  will 
acquire  a  new  interest  with  many.  (161-164) 

547.  Kaffir  corn. —  At  the  Kansas  Station, l  Georgeson  divided 
a  bunch  of  twelve  grade  Short-horn  and  three  grade  Hereford 
three-year-old  steers  into  three  lots  of  five  each.  For  concentrates 
the  first  lot  was  fed  corn  meal,  the  second  red  Kaffir-corn  meal, 
and  the  third  white  Kaffir- corn  meal.  In  each  case  the  grain  was 
ground  so  fine  that  about  three-fourths  of  the  meal  passed  through 
a  sieve  having  a  one-twentieth  inch  mesh.  The  roughage  during 
the  first  part  of  the  trial  consisted  of  Kaffir-corn  stover;  later  corn 
stover  and  alfalfa  hay  were  fed.  One  hundred  pounds  of  the 
stover  were  fed  daily  to  each  lot  of  steers,  and  the  rejected  por- 
tion weighed  and  deducted  from  the  total,  so  that  the  weights 
in  the  table  are  the  amounts  of  forage  actually  consumed.  The 


Results  of  Steer-feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations. 


353 


results  of  the  trial,  which  lasted  175  days,  are  presented  in  the 
following  table: 

Feeding  Kaffir -corn  meal  in  comparison  with  corn  meal  to  steers  — 

Kansas  Station. 


Feed. 

Av.  wt. 

at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Feed  eaten. 

Av. 

gain 
per 
steer. 

Feed  for  100 
pounds  gain. 

Grain. 

Rough- 
age. 

Grain. 

Rough- 
age. 

Lot   I  corn  meal 

Lbs. 
1,036 

1,021 
1,025 

Lbs. 
16,271 

16,271 
16,271 

Lbs. 
9,297 

10,300 
10,828 

Lbs. 
326 

299 
313 

Lbs. 
997 

1,086 
1,041 

Lbs. 
569 

688 
692 

Lot  II,  red  Kaffir-corn 
meal    

Lot  III,  white  Kaffir- 
corn  meal  

Commenting  on  the  above,  Georgeson  writes:  "The  fact  that 
these  lots  show  so  little  difference  in  their  gains  and  the  value 
received  for  the  grain  fed  is  a  gratifying  proof  of  the  value  of  Kaffir 
corn.  The  feeding  value  of  corn  has  long  been  known,  but  this  is  the 
first  experiment  in  which  Kaffir  corn  has  been  tested  so  thoroughly 
and  for  so  long  a  period  under  normal  conditions.  The  steers 
were  fair  representatives  of  the  grade  cattle  raised  in  the  Central 
West.  They  were  neither  high-bred  cattle  nor  common  scrubs. 
The  conditions  of  the  experiment  were  those  that  prevail  with  the 
average  farmer  and  feeder.  They  were  fed  in  open  lots,  where 
they  could  seek  the  shelter  of  a  small  shed  when  desired,  but 
they  were  not  pampered  or  petted  in  any  way.  The  results 
obtained  in  this  case  can  be  obtained  by  any  feeder  in  the  state 
without  providing  better  quarters  or  giving  more  attention  to 
their  feed  and  care  than  can  be  and  is  furnished  by  the  average 
farmer  anywhere.'7  (195) 

548.  Value  of  droppings  from  steers  fed  Kaffir  corn. —  In  the 
trial  above  reported,  seven  shotes  were  placed  with  each  lot  of 
steers  to  gain  what  they  could  from  the  droppings.  Each  lot  was 
fed  substantially  the  same  amount  of  corn  from  a  trough,  the 
allowance  being  small  in  order  to  force  the  shotes  to  thoroughly 
work  over  the  droppings.  Samples  of  the  steers'  droppings  were 
washed  and  the  undigested  meal  separated,  dried  and  weighed 
23 


354 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


to  ascertain  the  portion  which  passed  through  them.  The  extra 
feed  given  the  shotes,  the  available  meal  in  the  droppings,  the 
gains,  etc.,  are  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Feed  and  gain  of  shotes  following  steers  fed  corn  meal  and  Kaffir 
corn  —  Kansas  Station. 


Lot  I, 

following 
steers  fed 
corn 
meal. 

Lot  II, 

following 
steers  fed 
red  Kaffir 
corn. 

Lot  III, 
following 
steers  fed 
white 
Kaffir 
corn. 

Grain  eaten  from  trough         

Lbs. 
2,520 

Lbs. 
2,520 

Lbs. 
2  480 

Calculated  feed  available  in  manure. 

705 

1,475 

1,842 

Gain  of  ^ach  lot    

635 

698 

725 

Feed  available  for  100  pounds  of  gain  

507 

572 

596 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  shotes  following  the  steers  fed  corn  meal 
made  100  pounds  of  gain  from  507  pounds  of  calculated  grain  in 
the  droppings  and  the  extra  allowance  supplied  from  the  trough. 
The  shotes  following  the  steers  fed  Kaffir  corn  made  larger  gains 
from  the  same  allowance  of  extra  grain  fed  in  the  trough  than 
those  following  the  steers  fed  corn  meal.  This  shows  that  they 
secured  more  nutriment  from  the  droppings  than  did  the  shotes 
following  the  corn-fed  steers. 

Georgeson  summarizes  this  portion  of  the  experiment  in  the 
following  words:  "The  experiment  proves  that  hogs  can  utilize 
Kaffir- corn  feed  in  the  manure  and  bring  out  the  value  in  pork 
in  about  the  same  ratio  of  values  that  exists  between  corn  and 
Kaffir  corn." 

Such  results  in  conjunction  with  those  reported  in  the  preced- 
ing article  show  the  worth  of  Kaffir  corn  in  the  feed  lot,  and  will 
enhance  its  value  in  the  minds  of  stockmen  of  the  Southwest  in 
districts  where  the  rainfall  is  scant  for  maximum  corn  crops 
though  sufficient  for  this  sorghum. 

549.  Roots. —  The  British  stockman,  the  best  feeder  the  world 
knows,  has  made  large  use  of  roots  for  fattening  purposes.  The 
American  farmer,  and  especially  the  stockman  at  the  West,  has 
made  little  or  no  use  of  them.  For  information  on  this  subject  we 


Results  of  Steer-feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations. 


355 


naturally  turn  to  Canada,  where  we  find  the  following  experi- 
ment by  Brown. l  Six  animals  were  divided  into  lots  of  two  each 
and  given  roots,  hay,  bran  and  pea  meal,  with  the  following 
results: 

Result  of  84   days1  trial   with   roots   for   cattle  feeding  —  Ontario 
Agricultural  College. 


Roots  fed. 

Wt.  of 

animals 
at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Daily 
in- 
crease. 

Feed  per  steer,  daily. 

Hay. 

Bran. 

Pea  meal. 

Roots. 

Sugar  beets  

Lbs. 

1,059 
1.063 
1,061 

1,061 

Lbs. 

2.31 

2.38 
2.30 

Lbs. 

10.5 
11.5 
12 

Lbs. 

3 
3 
3 

Lbs. 

6.5 
6.5 
6.5 

Lbs. 

52 
55 
52 

Miaugels 

Turnips 

Average  

2.33 

11.3 

485 

3 
129 

6.5 
279 

53 
2,275 

Feed    for    100    pounds 
grain 

The  table  shows  that  somewhat  more  than  a  ton  of  roots,  to- 
gether with  400  pounds  of  pea  meal  and  bran  and  500  pounds  of 
hay,  were  required  for  100  pounds  of  increase.  (318) 

550.  Silage  compared  with  roots. —  The  use  of  silage  for  cattle 
feeding  originated  with  dairymen,  and  down  to  the  present  time 
steer  feeders  have  always  regarded  silage  as  possibly  suitable  for 
dairy  cows,  but  too  sloppy  and  sour  for  beef  making.  A  few  have 
made  use  of  silage  with  favorable  results. 

At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College, 2  Shaw  fed  three  groups  of 
grade  Short- horn  steers  of  two  each  on  silage  and  roots.  The  hay 
was  timothy  and  clover,  the  roots  turnips  and  mangels,  and  the 
meal  equal  weights  of  ground  peas,  barley  and  oats.  The  feed 
consumed  per  animal  daily  was: 

ri^.^T  /  57.47  pounds  silage. 

Group  I |   11. 72  pounds  meal. 

{30.6   pounds  silage. 
11.13  pounds  meal. 
9.3    pounds  hay. 
{43.07  pounds  roots. 
11.12  pounds  meal. 
11.22 


Group  III. 


pounds  hay. 


1  Rept.  Ont.  Agr.  Col.,  1883. 

2  Rept.  1891. 


356 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  following  table  shows  the  result  of  the  trial,  beginning  De- 
cember 11  and  lasting  146  days: 

Feeding  steers  with  roots  and  silage  —  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 


Lot  I. 

Silage 
and  meal. 

Lot  II. 

Silage, 
hay  and 
meal. 

Lot  III. 

Boots, 
hay  and 
meal. 

AVeight  at  comnien  cement     

Lbs. 
2.789 

Lbs. 
2,735 

Lbs. 
2,672 

Gain  of  two  steers,  146  days  

555 

448 

537 

Average  gain  per  steer  

277 

224 

268 

1.90 

1.53 

1.84 

From  the  table  we  learn  that  the  steers  fed  the  largest  amount 
of  silage  daily  made  the  greatest  total  gain  with  the  highest  daily 
rate  of  increase.  Placing  a  reasonable  value  upon  silage  and 
roots,  the  gains  from  silage  were  made  at  a  lower  cost  than  those 
from  roots. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station1  the  writer  fed  silage  to  steers  with 
excellent  results.  In  one  trial,  four  two-  and  three-year-old  steers, 
fed  on  corn  silage  only,  made  a  gain  of  222  pounds  in  36  days,  or 
1.5  pounds  per  day  each.  It  required  3,558  pounds  of  silage  to 
make  100  pounds  gain.  (393-5) 

551.  Fish  scrap  for  fattening  steers. —  Fink  fed  three-year-old 
steers2  of  the  Holstein  breed  3.3  pounds  of  fish  scrap  per  head 
per  day,  the  remainder  of  the  ration  consisting  of  hay,  potatoes, 
straw,  rye,  barley  and  oats.     The  average  daily  gain  per  head 
during  90  days  was  3.3  pounds.     The  quality  of  meat  was  satis- 
factory.  (340,661) 

552.  Molasses. —  Georgeson3  fed  molasses  with  corn  meal  and 
corn  fodder  to  three  steers  for  a  period  of  nineteen  weeks  with 
the  following  results: 

Total  feed  required  for  100  pounds  gain. 

Pounds. 

Molasses '. 598 

Corn  meal 807 

Stover...,  705 


1  Kept.  1888. 

*  Milch  Zeit.  25  (1896),  p.  51. 

8  Bui.  39,  Kan.  Expt.  Sta. 


Results  of  Steer-feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations. 


357 


Commenting  on  this  Georgeson  writes:  "  A  mixture  of  molasses 
and  corn  meal  proved  to  be  a  very  inferior  fattening  material." 
(347) 

553.  The  "  balanced  "  ration. —  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  and 
experiment  proves,  that  a  combination  of  two  or  more  varieties 
of  grain  gives  more  economical  returns  for  a  given  weight  of 
feed  than  a  single  kind.  This  is  illustrated  in  experiments  by 
Georgeson  at  the  Kansas  Station. l  In  three  trials,  one  lot  of 
steers  was  fed  a  "  balanced  ration,77  containing  a  "judicious  mixt- 
ure of  corn  meal,  oil  meal,  bran  and  shorts,  the  proportion  of 
the  albuminoids  and  carbohydrates  in  the  feed  to  approximate  the 
requirements  of  the  feeding  standard,  and  in  addition  to  this  mixt- 
ure to  have  what  corn  fodder  and  hay  they  would  eat."  Against 
steers  thus  fed  were  others  whose  allowance  consisted  of  ear  corn, 
with  corn  stover  and  prairie  hay  for  roughage.  The  data  given 
are  averages  for  one  steer: 

Result  of  three  years'    experiments  feeding  a  "balanced  ration17 
against  ear  corn  —  Kansas  Station. 

A.  Experiment  of  1892,  lasting  6  months  with  5  steers  on  each  side. 


Rations. 

Av.  wt. 

per  steer. 

Av.  amt. 
grain  per 
steer. 

Fodder 
per  steer. 

Av.  gain 
during 
expt. 

Grain 
per  100 
IDS.  gain. 

Fodder 
per  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Balanced  ration  
Ear  corn  

Lbs. 

1,198 
1,213 

Lbs. 

4,357 
4,027 

Lbs. 

1,422 
1,341 

Lbs. 

436 

284 

Lbs. 

1,001 
1,418 

Lbs. 

326 
472 

B.  Experiment  of  1893,  lasting  4  months  with  5  steers  on  each  side. 


Balanced  ration  
Ear  corn  

1,083 
1,073 

2,969 
2,723 

865 
1,214 

309 
274 

961 
994 

280 
443 

C.  Experiment  of  1896,  lasting  5  months  with  5  steers  on  each  side. 


Balanced  ration  

1,123 

3,055 

973 

406 

752 

240 

Ear  corn  

1,158 

3,223 

535 

230 

1,401 

233 

The  average  of  three  trials  shows: 

Corn  consumed  for  100  pounds  gain 1,271  pounds. 

Mixed  grains  consumed  for  100  pounds  gain 905  pounds. 

These  figures  show  that  28  per  cent,  less  grain  was  required 


1  Buls.  34,  39  and  60. 


358  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

for  100  pounds  of  gain  when  feeding  the  so-called  "  balanced  ra- 
tion ' '  than  where  ear  corn  alone  was  given.  At  most  Western 
points  the  " balanced  ration"  will  cost  28  per  cent,  more  than  a 
corn  ration,  but  in  many  localities  it  will  prove  much  cheaper 
than  corn  alone. l 

554.  Pasturing   steers. —  Though  a  large  portion  of  the  gain 
made  by  cattle  originates  from  pasture,  we  have  little  data  upon 
the  subject.     This  lack  of  information  is  due  no  doubt  to  the 
great  difference  in  the  productive  power  of  pastures,  and  from 
the  lack  of  uniformity  of  herbage  growth  from  year  to  year. 
Morrow2  conducted  interesting  investigations  on  the  gain  of  steers 
maintained  wholly  on  tame  pastures  from  May  1  to  November  1. 
The  gains  with  different  lots  are  as  follows: 

4  head  of  yearling  steers,  maintained  on  pasture  alone,  showed  an  aver- 
age gain  of  332  pounds  each. 

10  head  of  yearling  steers,  maintained  on  pasture  alone,  showed  an  aver- 
age gain  of  285  pounds  each. 

2  head  of  yearling  steers,  maintained  on  pasture  alone,  showed  an  aver- 
age gain  of  440  pounds  each. 

These  gains  are  probably  fully  equal  to  the  average  obtained 
with  cattle  on  Western  tame  pastures  of  good  quality.  They  show 
that  from  such  pastures  we  may  look  for  a  gain  of  from  300  to 
400  pounds  per  head  for  the  season  with  yearling  steers.  (258) 

555.  Feeding  grain  to  steers  on  pasture. —  At  the  Iowa  Sta- 
tion, 3  Wilson  and  Curtiss,  fattening  steers  on  pasture  with  and 
without  grain,  obtained  the  following  results: 

10  steers  on  pasture  only,  gained  2.01  pounds  each  daily. 

10  steers  on  pasture  with  grain,  gained  2.13  pounds  each  daily. 

The  steers  fed  grain  received  ten  pounds  of  corn  and  cob  meal 
each  daily. 

At  the  Missouri  Agricultural  College, 4  Sanborn  conducted  two 
trials  in  feeding  steers  on  grain  while  on  pasture,  both  at  a  loss. 

1  For  a  discussion  of  these  experiments  by  Georgeson,  see  Qr.  Kept. 
Kan.  Bd.  Agr.,  Dec.  1897. 

2  Bui.  1,  Col.  of  Agr.,  Univ.  of  111. 

*  Bui.  28. 

*  Bui.  8. 


Results  of  Steer-feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations. 


359 


Morrow1  secured  the  following  gains  with  steers  full  fed  with 
grain  for  the  season,  while  on  pasture: 

Yearlings. 

2  head  of  steers  showed  an  average  gain  of 507  pounds  each. 

4  head  of  steers  showed  an  average  gain  of 284  pounds  each. 

Two-year-olds. 

7  head  of  steers  showed  an  average  gain  of 466  pounds  each. 

8  head  of  steers  showed  an  average  gain  of 380  pounds  each. 

4  head  of  steers  showed  an  average  gain  of 406  pounds  each. 

Summarizing  his  experience.  Morrow  concludes:  "  The  results 
from  two  years'  trial  indicate  that  a  grain  ration  to  young  steers 
on  good  pasture  is  not  usually  profitable.  The  value  of  the  in- 
crease in  weight  by  the  grain-fed  steers  over  those  having  grass 
only  will  not  repay  the  cost  of  food  and  labor.  The  increased 
value  of  the  animals  from  earlier  maturity  and  better  quality  may 
make  grain  feeding  profitable."  (666-7) 

556.  Water  drank  during  fattening. —  The  amount  of  water  drank 
by  fattening  steers,  which  varies  greatly,  may  be  placed  at  from 
50  to  125  pound  per  day.  Georgeson2  kept  a  record  of  the  water 
drank  by  fattening  steers,  with  results  as  follows: 

Water  drank  by  fattening  steers  in  winter  —  Kansas  Station. 


Feed. 

Water 
drank 
daily  per 
steer. 

Water 
drank 
per  pound 
gain. 

Water 
drank 
per  pound 
of  feed. 

First  trial: 
Lot     I,  Corn  meal,  bran,  shorts,  oil  meal 
with  hay 

Lbs. 

75 
47 

49 

79 

73 
91 
56 

Lbs. 

31 
33 
31 

33 

56 
57 

27 

Lbs. 

2.4 

1.8 
1.6 

2.5 

2.4 
3.4 
1.8 

Lot  II,  Corn  meal  with  corn  fodder  
Lot  III,  Ear  corn  with  corn  fodder  

Second  trial: 
Lot     I,  Corn  meal,  bran,  shorts,  oil  meal 
with  hay  

Lot  II,  Corn  meal,  molasses  and  corn 
fodder  

Lot  III,  Oil  cake,  hay 

Lot  IV,  Ear  corn,  corn  fodder 

In  the  above  we  observe  that  where  the  most  protein  was  fed  the 
largest  amount  of  water  was  drank  j  the  smallest  amount  with  the 
ear-corn  and  corn- fodder  ration. 


»Bul.  1,  Col.  of  Agr.,  Univ.  of  111. 


2  Buls.  34,  39,  Kan.  Sta. 


360 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


At  the  North  Carolina  Station, l  Emery,  feeding  steers  on  cot- 
ton-seed meal  and  hulls,  found  the  following  in  regard  to  water 
and  dry  matter  consumed  by  fattening  steers: 

Dry   matter   eaten  and  water  drank  daily  by  fattening  steers  per 
1,000  pounds  live  weight  —  North  Carolina  Station. 


Tied 

steers. 

Loose 
steers. 

Dry  matter  consumed  

Lbs. 
21  3 

Lbs. 
21  2 

Water  drank  and  in  feed  

58  3 

53  9 

Total  average  consumption  of  dry  food  and  water  

79  6 

75.1 

Pounds  water  to  one  pound  dry  food  

2  7 

2  6 

557.  Variation  in  individual  weight  while  fattening. —  The  stock- 
man who  will  weigh  a  fattening  steer  daily  for  a  few  weeks  will 
be  surprised  at  the  variation  in  the  weights  recorded.  Even 
thrifty  steers  that  are  steadily  fattening,  so  far  as  the  feeder  can 
judge,  will  show  surprising  variations  in  weight  from  day  to  day, 
and  even  from  week  to  week.  Much  data  could  be  given  on  this 
point,  but  a  few  figures  from  one  of  Georgeson's  experiments  at 
the  Kansas  Station2  will  suffice: 

Weekly  weight  of  steers  during  a  feeding  trial  —  Kansas  Station. 


Date. 

Weight 
of  steer 
No.  1. 

Gain 
or 

loss. 

Weight 
of  steer 
No.  2. 

Gain 
or 
loss. 

Weight 
of  steer 
No.  3. 

Gain 
or 
loss. 

Nov  30 

Lbs. 
1  232 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
1  190 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
1  207 

Lbs. 

Dec.    7  

1,269 

37 

1.205 

15 

1,240 

38 

Dec.  14  

1,280 

11 

1,213 

8 

1,236 

-4 

Dec.  21  

1,278 

2 

1,226 

13 

1,244 

8 

Dec   28            

1,325 

47 

1,250 

24 

1,270 

26 

Mav    2 

1  545 

583 

1  567 

May    9  

1,565 

20 

,603 

20 

1,593 

26 

May  16  

1,597 

32 

,620 

17 

1,619 

26 

May  23 

1,598 

1 

,643 

23 

1,626 

7 

May  30      

1,610 

12 

,606 

—37 

1,593 

-33 

These  variations,  which  are  not  extraordinary,  show  how  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  determine  the  true  weight  of  a  steer  at  any  given 


Bui.  93. 


2  Bui.  34. 


Results  of  Steer- feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations.  361 

period.  Our  Experiment  Stations  are  now  generally  adopting  the 
practice  of  weighing  the  steer  for  three  successive  days  and  taking 
the  average  of  these  three  weights  as  the  true  weight  of  the  steer  on 
the  second  day.  It  has  been  supposed  that  this  variation  is  due  to 
a  difference  in  the  amount  of  water  drank  from  day  to  day,  but 
this  explanation  does  not  always  seem  sufficient.  It  is  prob- 
ably due  in  many  cases  to  the  irregular  movement  of  the  contents 
of  the  digestive  tract,  which  movement  is  influenced  by  changes 
in  the  character  and  quality  of  the  food  consumed,  the  exercise 
or  confinement  enforced,  and  the  effect  of  the  weather. 

H.  Beef  Making  at  the  South. 

558.  What  Southern  Stations  have  found. —  For  generations  the 
effort  of  the  South  has  been  toward  cotton  production,  which  de- 
mands scrupulously  clean  culture.     Until  recently  grass  has  been 
a  despised  plant,  but  it  is  now  overrunning  many  of  the  old 
plantations,  and  while  restoring  the  soil  to  something  like  its 
former  fertility  and  clothing  the  gashed  fields  with  a  carpet  of 
green,  it  is  giving  good  returns  in  nutritious  food  to  the  cattle 
grazing  upon  it.     Many  a  worn-out  cotton  plantation  can  be  made 
to  yield  in  Bermuda  grass,  Johnson  grass,  Japan  clover,  corn, 
sorghum  and  other  plants,  an  amount  of  feed  that  would  surprise 
Northern  stockmen. 

559.  Cotton  seed  for  beef  production. —  Equally  important  with 
the  growth  of  grass  is  the  enormous  production  of  cotton  seed, 
which  furnishes  a  most  valuable  feed  for  cattle.     Cotton  seed, 
either  raw,  boiled  or  roasted,  furnishes  a  nutritious  food  for  cattle, 
while  meal  from  the  seed  is  the  richest  stock  food  produced  in 
this  country.     The  hulls  of  the  cotton  seed  have  been  found  to 
possess  considerable  feeding  value  as  a  substitute  for  hay.  Because 
of  their  abundance  and  availability  they  constitute  a  factor  of 
importance  in  steer  feeding  at  the  South. 

Ssveral  of  the  Southern  Experiment  Stations  have  been  doing 
useful  work  in  showing  the  value  and  importance  of  the  cotton 
seed  and  its  by-products  for  steer  feeding.  While  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  report  all  the  results  in  this  line,  the  following  examples 


362 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


are  given  as  representing  the  territory  interested  and  furnishing 
data  concerning  the  important  points  of  the  subject: 

Results  obtained  with  steers  fed  cotton  seed  in  various  forms  at 
Southern  Experiment  Stations. 

Results  by  McConnell,  Texas  Station.1 


*t 
If 

Av.wt. 
at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Gain 
per 
head. 

Av. 

daily 
gain 
per 
head. 

Feed  for  100  Ibs.  of  gain. 

4 
4 
4 
4 
4 

Lbs. 

638 
625 
630 
576 
615 

513 
513 
509 
5U 
522 

Lbs. 

186 
199 
207 
192 
203 

266 
222 
223 
208 
193 

Lbs. 

1.86 
1.99 
2.07 
1.92 
2.03 

2.66 
2.22 
2.23 
2.08 
1.93 

Lbs. 

268  Cotton-seed  meal.... 
264  Roasted  cotton  seed 
256  Boiled  cotton  seed.. 
276  Raw  cotton  seed  

Lbs. 
388  hulls  

Lbs. 

1074  silage. 
216  hay. 
201  hay. 
276  hay. 
371  hay. 

713  silage. 
158  hay. 
128  hay. 
155  hay. 
185  hay. 

322  corn  

372  corn 

269  corn  

694  corn         .         .   . 

185  Cotton-seed  meal... 
229  Roasted  cotton  seed 
233  Boiled  cotton  seed.. 
246  Raw  cotton  seed  

252  hulls   

312  corn          . 

b68  corn  

291  com  

759  corn 

Results  by  Emery,  North  Carolina  Station.3 


t 

796 

178 

1  78 

224  Raw  cotton  seed 

1021  cotton-seed  hulls 

4 

784 

184 

1.84 

231  Raw  cotton  seed  

1016  cotton-seed  hulls 



Results  by  Bennett  and  Menke,  Arkansas  Station.3 


9 

589 

247 

2  74 

209  Raw  cotton  seed  ... 

707  cotton-seed  hulls 

2 
2 

721 
710 

221 
176 

2.45 
1.95 

185  Raw  cotton  seed  
175  Raw  cotton  seed  

603  cotton-seed  hulls 
580  cotton-seed  hulls 

425  pea  hay. 
412  pea  hay. 

Results  by  Stubbs,  Louisiana  Station.* 


6 
5 

774 
727 

154 
153 

2.2 
2.8 

298  Cotton-seed  meal... 
231  Cotton-seed  meal... 

1053  cotton-seed  hulls 
672  cotton-seed  hulls 

85  molasses. 
62  molasses. 

1  Bui.  27.  a  Bui.  93.  3  3d  Ann.  Rept.  Ark.  Expt.  Sta.  *  Bui.  34,  2d  Sen 

This  table  shows  the  high  value  of  the  cotton  seed,  whether 
raw,  roasted  or  boiled,  and  also  of  its  by-product,  cotton-seed 
meal,  for  beef  production.  No  grain  raised  at  the  North  equals  it, 
pound  for  pound,  for  beef  production.  When  we  reflect  that  for 
every  pound  of  cotton  fiber  grown  there  are  two  pounds  of  seed, 
no  argument  is  needed  to  convince  us  that  the  South  is  capable 
of  producing  the  beef  required  for  home  consumption. 

Connell  found,  as  shown  by  the  preceding  table,  that  the  cheap- 
est ration  was  raw  cotton  seed  with  about  equal  weights  of  corn 


Results  of  Steer -feeding  Trials  at  the  Stations.  363 

and  hay.  Such  a  mixture  is  not  only  economical,  but  will  prob- 
ably make  better  meat  than  cotton-seed  meal  or  cotton  seed  fed 
as  the  sole  concentrate. 

Connell  and  Carson,  of  the  Texas  Station, l  having  fed  cotton- 
seed meal  and  hulls  in  varying  proportions  to  fattening  steers, 
conclude  that  the  largest  daily  gain  can  be  secured  by  feeding 
three  pounds  of  hulls  for  each  pound  of  meal.  If  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  meal  is  fed  the  cost  of  the  gain  will  be  somewhat  in- 
creased. When  the  price  of  a  ton  of  cotton-seed  meal  is  to  the 
price  of  a  ton  of  hulls  as  5  to  1,  then  a  pound  of  meal  should  be 
fed  for  each  five  pounds  of  hulls.  For  example,  if  meal  is  worth 
$15  a  ton  and  the  hulls  $3,  then  five  pounds  of  hulls  should  be 
fed  for  each  pound  of  meal.  If  the  hulls  are  worth  less  in  pro- 
portion, then  more  hulls  should  be  fed  in  proportion  to  the  meal. 
(210-215) 

560.  "Fat  sickness." — Cattle  fed  on  cotton-seed  meal  and 
hulls  are  occasionally  afflicted  with  inflammation  of  the  eyes, 
which  may  terminate  in  total  loss  of  sight.  The  trouble  has  been 
attributed  to  damaged  cotton  seed,  to  mal-nutrition,  etc.,  but 
nothing  definite  has  yet  been  determined.  "Fat  sickness"  may 
attack  thrifty,  fat  cattle.  Cattle  fattened  on  meal  are  said  to  be 
especially  liable  to  attacks  when  turned  to  pasture.  The  trouble 
is  prevalent  during  certain  seasons,  while  in  other  years  no  cattle 
are  affected.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  furnishing  a  larger 
variety  of  food  in  the  ration  would  prevent  the  difficulty. 

» Bui.  41. 


CHAPTEE  XXII. 


FACTOBS  IN  STEEB,  FATTENING  —  FINAL  RESULTS. 

I.  Conditions  Affecting  Results, 

561.  Influence  of  shelter  and  confinement. —  At  the  Kansas  Sta- 
tion, 1  Georgeson,  testing  the  influence  of  shelter,  confined  five 
steers  by  tying  in  a  stable,  allowing  five  others  to  run  loose  in  an 
open  yard  with  a  shed  at  one  side  for  shelter.  The  steers  were 
Western  cattle  three  years  old  past,  fed  ear  corn  and  stover.  The 
trial  began  November  30,  lasting  six  months.  The  following 
year  it  was  duplicated  with  grade  Short-horns  six  months  younger 
than  those  in  the  preceding  trial.  The  second  trial  began  Decem- 
ber 20,  continuing  four  months.  The  third  trial  followed  the 
plan  of  the  other  two.  The  steers  were  mostly  grade  Short- 
horns, two  and  one-half  to  three  years  old,  and  were  put  into 
the  feed  lot  October  23, — the  feeding  continuing  five  months. 
The  results  of  the  three  trials  are  herewith  summarized: 

Results  of  three  trials  with  steers  fed  in  barn  and  in  yard  —  Kansas 

Station. 


Where  fed. 

Ear 
corn 
eaten. 

Fodder 
eaten. 

Gain. 

Ear  corn 
per  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Fodder 
per  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

1892.  Lasting  six  months. 

Lbs. 
4,027 

Lbs. 
1,341 

Lbs. 

284 

Lbs. 
1,418 

Lbs. 
472 

Fed  in  v&rd              .       ... 

4  871 

907 

313 

1  556 

290 

1893.  Lasting  four  months. 
Fed  in  barn  

2,723 

1,214 

274 

994 

443 

Fed  in  yard  

3,158 

1,444 

276 

1,144 

523 

1895.  Lasting  Jive  months. 
Fed  in  barn                       . 

3  223 

535 

230 

\  401 

233 

Fed  in  yard            

3,372 

457 

217 

1  554 

210 

In  all  the  trials  the  steers  running  in  the  yard  consumed  more 
grain  than  those  confined,  and  on  the  whole  made  larger  gains, 

*  Buls.  34,  39. 


Factors  in  Steer  Feeding.  365 

at  a  cost,  however,  of  about  12  per  cent,  more  grain  for  a  given 
amount  of  increase. 

Moscrop1  reports  a  feeding  trial  at  Yorkshire,  England,  in 
which  three  lots  of  steers  of  four  each  were  used.  The  first  four 
were  confined  by  tying  in  the  stable,  the  second  placed  separately 
in  boxes,  each  10  x  10  feet,  while  the  third  group  occupied  an  open 
lot,  along  one  side  of  which  was  a  shed.  Each  lot  of  steers  re- 
ceived the  same  amount  of  Indian  corn  and  oil  cake,  thus  throw- 
ing the  difference  in  the  amount  of  feed  consumed  on  the  turnips 
and  straw  chaff  which  were  fed  additional.  The  steers  in  the 
open  lot  with  shed  for  shelter  made  somewhat  the  most  rapid 
gain,  consuming,  however,  about  50  per  cent,  more  turnips  than 
those  confined  by  tying.  Those  in  the  boxes  consumed  25  per 
cent.  more. 

At  the  "Woburn  Station,  England,  equally  good  results  were 
obtained  in  two  trials  with  steers  running  in  a  yard  with  shed  for 
shelter,  fed  in  test  with  others  confined  in  box-stalls. 2 

Thorne  and  Hickman  at  the  Ohio  Station, 3  feeding  steers  in 
the  barn  in  opposition  to  others  in  the  open  yard  with  shed  to  run 
under,  conclude:  "The  differences  here  indicated  are  not  suffi- 
cient to  justify  the  assertion  that  either  method  of  caring  for 
cattle  was  better  than  the  other.'7 

At  the  North  Carolina  Station, 4  Emery,  testing  the  effects  of 
close  confinement  and  liberty  of  movement,  concludes  that  if 
cattle  are  well  fed  and  kept  quiet  and  contented,  it  does  not 
matter,  in  feeding  for  fattening  purposes,  whether  they  are  tied  or 
turned  loose  in  a  limited  range. 

Sanborn,  experimenting  first  in  Missouri, 5  and  later  in  Utah, ft 
with  steers  concludes:  "It  now  looks  as  though  the  true  method 
of  wintering  cattle  consists  in  giving  the  freedom  of  warm  quar- 
ters with  liberty  of  outdoor  runs  at  their  pleasure."  (630) 

562.  Changes  during  fattening  to  be  avoided. —  Sometimes  as 
grass  springs  up  in  May  the  stockman  is  not  ready  to  dispose  of 

1  Trans.  High,  and  Agr.  Soc.,  1872. 

2  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1887,  1890. 

3  Bui.  60.  <  Bui.  93. 

c  Syn.  of  Expt.  Mo.  Expt.  Sta. 
•  Kept.  1892. 


366 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


his  cattle,  and  must  choose  between  continuing  stall  or  yard 
feeding  and  turning  the  cattle  to  pasture  for  a  short  time  before 
disposing  of  them.  What  to  do  in  such  cases  is  often  perplexing. 
We  have  some  help  in  the  experiments  of  Thome  and  Hickman 
at  the  Ohio  Station.  * 

About  May  1  a  group  of  steers  which  had  been  fed  experi- 
mentally during  the  winter  was  divided,  part  being  turned  to 
grass  and  part  kept  in  the  stable,  grain  and  hay  feeding  being 
continued,  practically  to  the  full  demands  of  both.  The  results 
are  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Results  of  turning  partially -fattened  steers  to  pasture  —  Ohio  Station. 


Treatment. 

Number 
of  cattle. 

Dry  sub- 
stance 
con- 
sumed 
per  steer 
per  day. 

Daily 
cost  of 
food  per 
steer. 

Daily 
gain  per 
steer. 

Dry  sub- 
stance 
con- 
sumed 
per  Ib.  of 
gain. 

Cost  of 
food  per 
pound 
of  gain. 

1894. 
Lot    I,  kept  in  barn 
Lot  II,  pastured  30 
days         

16 
15 

Lbs. 
20.16 

15  39 

Cents. 
15.33 

12.93 

Lbs. 
2.00 

1.42 

Lbs. 
10.00 

10.84 

Cents. 
7.66 

9.10 

1895. 
Lot   I,  kept  in  barn 
Lot  II,  pastured  45 
days  

8 
8 

20.99 
15.21 

16.09 
12.55 

1.76 
1.37 

11.95 
11.10 

9.14 
9.16 

We  observe  that  the  steers  turned  to  pasture  ate  nearly  as  much 
grain  and  half  as  much  hay  as  those  kept  in  the  barn.  Even 
with  this  aid  the  change  from  barn  to  pasture  did  not  result 
favorably,  as  is  shown  by  the  smaller  daily  gain  in  each  case  and 
by  the  increased  cost  of  gain  in  one  instance  and  equal  cost  in  the 
other. 

At  the  Iowa  Station, 2  Wilson  and  Curtiss,  changing  20  Short- 
liorn  and  Angus  steers  from  feed  lot  to  pasture,  though  still 
giving  grain,  secured  a  gain  of  only  .6  of  a  pound  per  head  daily 
during  the  15  days  in  which  the  gradual  change  was  being  made. 
These  investigators, 3  in  changing  another  lot  of  steers  back  from 
pasture  to  feed  lot  in  the  fall,  likewise  secured  a  gain  of  only  .6  of 
a  pound  per  head  daily  during  the  15  days  in  which  the  change 
occurred.  These  steers  usually  made  a  gain  of  about  two  pounds 

1  Bui.  60.  2  Bui.  28.  3  Bui.  20,  Iowa  Sta. 


Factors  in  Steer  Feeding. 


367 


each  daily.  Commenting  on  the  result  they  write:  "  A  chang- 
ing period  is  a  losing  period,  if  the  change  is  radical." 

These  trials  accord  with  the  experience  of  stockmen,  who  find 
it  unsatisfactory  to  change  wholly  or  nearly  finished  cattle  from 
one  set  of  conditions  to  another,  no  matter  what  the  new  con- 
ditions. When  steers  are  to  be  sold  at  no  distant  date,  it  is  best 
to  continue  them  under  the  existing  system  of  feed  and  confine- 
ment, rather  than  change  to  new  conditions,  even  though  the  latter 
may  appear  more  favorable. 

563.  Effect  of  age  on  rate  of  gain. —  The  daily  rate  of  gain  with 
cattle  on  full  feed  is  directly  affected  by  the  age  of  the  animal. 
This  is  illustrated  by  the  records  of  the  fat-stock  shows.  Some 
of  the  results  obtained  in  England  are  shown  in  the  following 
table: 

Age  and  weight  of  steers  slaughtered  at  the  Smithfield  {England)  Fat- 
Stock  Show,  1888-95. 1 


No.  of 
animals. 

Age. 

Average 
daily 
gain. 

Live  wt. 
at  slaugh- 
tering. 

Dressed 
meat  to 
live  wt. 

Shorthorn. 
1  year  old         

5 

Days. 
642 

Lbs. 
2.11 

Lbs. 
1,355 

Per  cent. 
66.13 

2  years  old    

18 

963 

1.92 

1,842 

67.48 

16 

1,321 

1.70 

2,251 

69.38 

Hereford. 
1  year  old 

16 

663 

1  97 

1,308 

65  08 

2  years  old 

13 

1,020 

1.78 

1,817 

67  15 

3  years  old            ...   . 

8 

1,349 

1.64 

2,218 

69.18 

Devon. 
1  year  old  

13 

634 

1.75 

1,112 

66.01 

2  years  old 

19 

1,045 

1  51 

1,583 

67  73 

3  years  old 

16 

1,311 

1.37 

1,796 

67.32 

Aberdeen-Angus. 
1  year  old  

26 

668 

2.04 

1,366 

65.37 

2  years  old 

21 

1,008 

1.74 

1,765 

66  67 

3  years  old.     .   ... 

2 

1,346 

1  59 

2,138 

67.39 

Sussex. 
1  year  old  

17 

677 

2.15 

1,452 

65  42 

18 

989 

1.86 

1,837 

68.18 

3  years  old 

12 

1,285 

1  61 

2,064 

67  98 

Red  Polled. 
2  years  old  

12 

1,002 

1.64 

1,631 

65  73 

6 

1,362 

1.49 

2,022 

65  77 

Galloway. 
2  years  old  ..  . 

7 

1,027 

1  64 

1  688 

64  45 

3  vears  old.... 

4 

1,344 

1.47 

1,969 

64.84 

1  Reported  annually  in 
Oazette,  London. 


the  Live  Stock  Journal  and  Agricultural 


368 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


This  same  problem  has  been  worked  out  by  Stewart, l  who  sum- 
marizes the  records  of  eight  annual  exhibits  at  the  American  Fat- 
Stock  Show,  Chicago,  as  follows: 

Age  and  rate  of  gain  of  animals  exhibited  at  the  American  Fat-Stock 
Show,   Chicago,  1878-85 — Stewart. 


Number  of  animals. 

Age. 

Average 
weight. 

Gain  per 
day. 

30    .... 

Days. 

297 

Lbs. 
780 

Lbs. 
2  63 

152    .... 

612 

1,334 

2  18 

145  

943 

1,639 

1.74 

133  

1,283 

1,938 

1.51 

The  above  shows  that  choice  cattle  fed  for  exhibition  made  an 
average  daily  gain  of  2.63  pounds  up  to  297  days  of  age;  after 
this  the  gain  gradually  fell  off  with  increasing  age,  until  when  the 
animals  averaged  1,283  days  of  age,  the  rate  of  gain  for  the  whole 
period  was  only  1.51  pounds  daily. 

The  point  under  consideration  is  more  strongly  brought  out  in 
the  following  table, 2  which  shows  the  gains  by  periods: 

Gain  of  steers  exhibited  at  American  Fat-Stock  Show,  by  periods  — 

Stewart. 


Period. 

Length 
of 
period. 

Average 
gain  per 
head. 

Average 
daily  gain 
per  head. 

Days. 

297 

Lbs. 
780 

Lbs. 
2.63 

315 

554 

1.76 

331 

305 

.92 

340 

299 

.88 

. 

The  table  shows  that  up  to  297  days  the  cattle  made  an  average 
daily  gain  (including  birth  weight)  of  2.63  pounds,  while  for  the 
final  period  of  340  days  there  was  a  gain  of  only  .88  pounds  daily 
per  head.  The  gradual  decrease  in  the  ability  of  the  steer  to 
lay  on  flesh  is  apparent  to  every  one  upon  a  little  thought.  There 
must  come  a  time  in  the  life  history  of  the  animal  when  there  is 
no  increase  in  weight  no  matter  what  amount  of  food  is  consumed; 

1  Feeding  Animals,  3d  ed.,  App.  2  Loc.  cit. 


Factors  in  Steer  Feeding. 


369 


all  the  animal  can  or  will  then  eat  constitutes  the  food  of  sup- 
port, or  is  wasted.   (595-6) 

564.  Cost  of  gain  increases  with  age. —  We  have  seen  that  the 
daily  gain  possible  with  steers  decreases  as  the  age  of  the  animal 
increases.  The  results  obtained  at  our  Stations  and  the  records 
of  the  fat-stock  shows  teach  that  each  pound  of  gain  costs  more 
with  increasing  age,  as  illustrated  in  the  following  table: 

Cost  of  100  pounds  gain,  live  weight,  with  steers  of  different  ages. 


1-12  months  old. 

12-24  months  old 

24r-36  months  old 

No.  of 
ani- 
mals. 

Cost  of 
food. 

No.  of 
ani- 
mals. 

Cost  of 
food. 

No.  of 
ani- 
mals. 

Cost  of 
food. 

Fat-Stock  Show,  '82.  l 
Fat-Stock  Show,  '83.. 
Michigan  Station2.... 
Wisconsin  Station3... 
Massachusetts    Sta- 
tion4   

9 
6 
10 
16 

$4.03 
3.70 

1.87 
4.20 

5 
4 
10 
11 

2 

$7.98 
8.12 
7.37 
6.13 

7.49 

2 

$12.54 

10 

9.57 

2 

12.38 

1  Kept.  111.  Bd.  Agr.,  1884.     2  Bui.  44.     8  Kept.  1886.     *  Kept.  1891. 

The  table  shows  that  in  every  instance  the  cost  of  gain  with  the 
steer  during  the  first  twelve  months  of  growth  is  less  than  for 
later  periods.  At  the  Fat-Stock  Show  for  1882  the  feed  for  100 
pounds  of  gain  with  steers  up  to  twelve  months  cost  $4.03;  between 
twelve  and  twenty-four  months  it  was  $7.98,  while  between  twenty- 
four  and  thirty-six  months  the  cost  reached  $12.54. 

565.  Cost  of  grain  increases  with  length  of  fattening  period. — 
Other  conditions  being  equal,  the  longer  the  fattening  period  the 
larger  the  quantity  of  feed  required  to  produce  a  given  gain. 
This  is  brought  out  by  Georgeson,  of  the  Kansas  Station, l  who 
found  the  grain  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain  with  fattening 
steers  for  different  periods  to  be  as  follows: 

Feed  for  Increase  of 

100  Ibs.  gain.          feed  required. 

Up  to   56  days  the  steers  required..     730  pounds  of  grain 

Up  to  84  days  the  steers  required..  807  pounds  of  grain.  10  per  cent. 
Up  to  112  days  the  steers  required..  840  pounds  of  grain.  15  per  cent. 
Up  to  140  days  the  steers  required..  901  pounds  of  grain.  23  per  cent. 
Up  to  1(38  days  the  steers  required..  927  pounds  of  grain.  27  per  cent. 
Up  to  182  days  the  steers  required..  1000  pounds  of  grain.  37  per  cent. 

i  Bui.  34. 
24 


370  Feed*  and  Feeding. 

We  learn  by  the  preceding  data  that  while  at  first  only  730 
pounds  of  grain  were  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain,  for  the 
whole  six-months  period  over  1,000  pounds  were  required.  The 
increase  of  feed  percentagely  is  shown  in  the  last  column.  It 
begins  with  10  per  cent,  and  increases  to  37  per  cent.  The  heavy 
cost  of  thoroughly  fattening  the  steer  and  the  importance  of 
selling  at  the  earliest  possible  date  are  here  made  plain.  (80, 
594,  847) 

566.  Feed  for  100  pounds  gain  during  fattening. —  By  consulting 
the  tables  in  the  preceding  chapter  the  student  can  ascertain  the 
feed  requirements  of  steers  while  fattening.     The  grain  in  addi- 
tion to  roughage  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain  will  be  found  to 
range  from  400  to  1, 500  pounds.     This  wide  range  of  requirements 
can  but  excite  keen  interest  among  students  of  stock  management. 
The  lowest  amounts  stated  are  for  results  at  the  Texas  Station; 
here  the  steers  were  all  of  light  weight  though  quite  mature,  and 
it  is  probable  they  were  very  thin  in  flesh  at  the  beginning  of  the 
feeding  period,  so  that  a  part  of  the  increased  weight  was  due  to 
a  natural  filling-up  process.     The  feeding  period,  too,  was  short. 
Where  as  much  as  1,500  pounds  of  grain  were  required  for  100 
pounds  of  gain,  it  was  for  a  six-months  feeding  period,  with  corn 
only  for  concentrates,  and  the  animals  were  well  fattened. 

In  general,  taking  the  available  data  we  have  presented  for  the 
basis,  it  may  be  stated  that  about  1,000  pounds  of  grain  will  be  re- 
quired for  100  pounds  of  gain  with  well-fattened  steers,  on  the  aver- 
age, besides  500  pounds  of  coarse  food  in  the  shape  of  hay,  stover, 
etc.  Steers  in  thin  flesh,  those  fed  for  short  periods  only,  and  lots 
handled  under  unusually  favorable  conditions  will  give  the  re- 
quired gain  for  a  considerably  less  amount  of  grain  than  just  stated, 
while  those  fed  for  long  periods  may  require  50  per  cent.  more. 
(757,875) 

567.  Dry  matter  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain. —  Thome1  sum- 
marizes the  results  of  feeding  trials  at  Stations  in  eight  states  with 
132  steers,  and  finds  that  1,023  pounds  of  dry  matter  were  re- 
quired for  each  100  pounds  of  gain. 

Lawes  and  Gilbert2  tell  us  that  from  12  to  13  pounds  of  dry 


1  Bui.  60,  Ohio  Expt.  Bta. 

2  Bothamsted  Memoirs,  Vol.  V. 


Factors  in  Steer  Feeding. 


371 


substance  are  required  for  each  pound  of  increase,  live  weight, 
with  fattening  steers.  The  feeding  trials  at  many  of  our  Stations 
have  usually  covered  only  short  periods,  and  these,  as  we  have 
seen,  are  favorable  to  heavy  gains  for  feed  consumed.  This  being 
true,  the  figures  given  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  should  hold  standard 
for  the  present  at  least. 

568.  Cost  of  100  pounds  gain  with  fattening  steers. —  The  cost 
of  the  gain  made  by  steers  will  vary  according  to  the  section  of 
country  in  which  the  feeding  is  carried  on.  In  the  statements 
which  follow,  the  current  market  prices  for  feed  at  the  point  of 
feeding  are  used. 

At  the  Massachusetts  Station1  the  cost  of  feed  for  each  100 
pounds  increase,  live  weight,  of  steers  was  found  to  be  $10.58. 
This  high  cost  is  representative  of  conditions  prevailing  in  the 
Eastern  States,  where  feeding  stuffs  are  much  higher  priced  than 
in  the  great  agricultural  districts  of  the  West.  (812) 

At  the  Kansas  Station,  with  20  range  steers  three  years  old 
past,  fed  for  182  days,  Georgeson2  secured  the  results  shown  in 
the  following  table: 

Amount  of  feed  and  cost  of  same  for  100  pounds  of  gain  with  range 
steers  fed  six  months  —  Kansas  Station. 


Feed  given. 

Cost  of 
food  per 
head. 

Daily 
gain  per 
head. 

Gain  in 
182  days 
per 
head. 

Grain 
for 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Hay  or 

stover 
for  100 
Ibs. 
gain. 

Cost  for 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Lot  I. 

Corn  meal,  oil  meal, 
shorts,  bran  and 
tame  hay  

$31.00 
21.11 

20.85 
25.20 

Lbs. 

2.4 
1.47 

1.56 
1.72 

Lbs. 

436 

268 

284 
313 

Lbs. 

1,000 
1,334 

1,410 
1,530 

Lbs. 

320 
350 

470 
280 

$7.11 

7.87 

7.34 
8.05 

Lot  II. 

Corn  meal,  stover- 
Lot  III. 
Ear   corn,  stover, 
fed  in  barn 

Lot  IV. 
Ear  corn,    stover, 
fed  in  yard  

1  Kept.  1894. 

2  Bui.  34. 


372 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


If  we  include  all  charges  —  interest,  taxes,  labor,  feed  and  risk  — 
it  will  be  found  that  one  hundred  pounds  of  gain  made  during  fat- 
tening, by  well-finished  steers,  cost  from  eight  to  ten  dollars  at 
the  West  and  from  ten  to  twelve  dollars  at  the  East. 

At  the  Iowa  Station,  *  Wilson  and  Curtiss  fed  18  steers  of  nine 
different  breeds  with  results  as  follows: 

Cost  of  feed  with  steers  during  three  feeding  periods   of  92  days 
each  —  Iowa  Station. 


Date. 

Kind  of  feed. 

Gain  per 
head  per 
day. 

Cost  of 
feed  per 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

March  to  May... 

Lot  I-II. 
Corn  meal,  oil  meal,  hay  and 
roots  

Lbs. 
2  48 

$5  93 

June  to  Aug  

Lot  I. 
Corn  meal,  clover  pasture 

2  32 

4  31 

Lot  II. 
Oil  meal,  clover  pasture  .. 

2  03 

6  21 

Oct  to  Dec  

Lot  I. 
Snapped  corn,   corn   meal,  oil 
meal  roots  and  hay. 

3  26 

5  92 

Lot  II. 
Snapped  corn,  corn   meal,   oil 
meal,  roots  and  hay  

2  8 

6  38 

These  trials  are  representative  of  conditions  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  We  observe  that  the  lowest  cost  was  $4. 31  for  100  pounds 
of  gain,  in  Iowa,  with  steers  getting  corn  meal  on  clover  pasture. 
The  highest  cost  was  $8.05  for  steers  at  the  Kansas  Station  getting 
ear  corn. 

in.   Value  of  Breed  in  Beef  Making. 

569.  Amount  of  feed  consumed. —  Every  person  with  experi- 
ence in  the  cattle  business  concedes  that  "  blood  tells "  in  beef 
production.  Where  there  is  such  unanimity  of  expression  the 
fact  must  exist,  but  the  reasons  given  are  not  always  the  same 
and  so  are  worthy  of  careful  examination. 

Occasionally  the  claim  is  advanced  that  well-bred  cattle  eat 
less  than  natives  or  scrubs.  This  opinion  is  not  generally  held 
by  owners  of  pure-bred  or  high-grade  stock,  who  know  that  their 

*  Bui.  20. 


Factors  in  Steer  Feeding. 


373 


animals  when  gaining  rapidly  are  hearty  feeders,  though  when 
mature  they  require  only  a  small  amount  of  provender  for  main- 
tenance. Nothing  in  the  tables  given  in  this  chapter  warrants  the 
statement  that  pure-bred  or  high-grade  cattle  of  the  beef  breeds 
are  small  eaters. 

570.  Less  feed  for  a  given  gain. —  The  second  claim,  and  a 
more  reasonable  one,  is  that  cattle  bred  specifically  for  beef  give 
better  returns  for  a  given  amount  of  feed  than  those  bred  for  milk 
production  or  those  of  promiscuous  or  low  breeding.  This  claim 
is  quite  generally  advanced  by  stockmen,  and  is  usually  conceded 
without  calling  for  proof. 

A  few  Stations  have  undertaken  the  difficult  task  of  testing 
the  comparative  merits  of  the  several  breeds.  While  the  number 
of  animals  tested  is  not  large,  by  combining  all  the  data  at  hand 
we  get  some  light  on  the  question  though  we  cannot  hope  to  en- 
tirely settle  it.  Figures  are  given  in  the  next  table  from  trials  at 
five  Stations  where  pure-bred  and  native  steers  were  fed  in  com- 
parison for  periods  varying  from  ninety-two  days  to  eighteen 
months: 

Grain  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain  with  steers  of  several  'breeds 
as  found  at  various  Experiment  Stations. 


Station. 

Length 
of 
period. 

Age  at 
begin- 
ning. 

Short-horn. 

Hereford. 

W 

S, 

fl 

Eed  Polled.  1 

Galloway. 

Devon. 

I 

03 

Holstein.  | 

1 

•? 

Native. 

Iowa  (a)  .. 
Iowa  (ft)... 



92  days.. 
6  mos... 

i  yr  

1  yr  
18  mos... 
1  yr  
161  days.. 
18  mos. 

2  yrs... 
2  yrs... 
lyr.... 
2  yrs... 
lyr.... 
1  yr.... 
3  yrs... 

Ibs. 

659 

965 
557 
796 
493 
597 
777 

Ibs. 
874 

Ibs. 

744 
W 

Ibs. 
753 

Ibs. 
977 

Ibs. 
663 

Ibs. 
712 

Ibs. 
870 

Ibs. 
861 

Ibs. 

Michigan 
Michigan 
Michigan 
Ontario  (/ 
Kansas  (g 
Missouri  ( 

c)  .... 
d)... 
e)               

561 
916 
552 
793 

581 
763 
612 
553 

477 

755 
478 
495 



565 
939 
66S 

557 

807 



"698" 

::.'.": 

686 



491 
876 
631 



)  .. 

h) 

1  yr.... 

706 

742 

661 

1  "" 

(a)  Bui.  20. 
(e)  Bui.  69. 


(6)  Bui.  28.  (c)  Bui.  44. 

(/)  Kept.  1892.       (g)  Bui.  51. 


(d)  Bui.  44. 
(A)  Bui.  24. 


There  were  two  steers  in  each  Michigan  trial  and  in  the  first 
Iowa  trial.  In  the  second  Iowa  trial  there  were  ten  Short- 
horn and  ten  Angus  steers;  in  the  Ontario  trial  there  was  only 
one  of  eachj  in  the  Kansas  trial  there  were  six  Short-horns  and 


374  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

six  Natives;  in  the  Missouri  trial  there  were  six  Short-horns,  three 
Herefords,  four  Angus  and  four  Natives.  The  student  should  not 
take  averages  of  the  trials  in  drawing  conclusions,  since  the  con- 
ditions at  the  different  Stations  varied  greatly,  but  they  should 
be  studied  separately.  The  tests  cover  periods  ranging  from  92 
days  to  18  months.  The  least  amount  of  grain  (477  pounds)  for 
100  pounds  of  gain  was  with  Devon  steers,  and  the  largest  amount 
(977  pounds)  was  with  Galloways. 

Eeviewing  the  data  of  the  table  it  will  be  seen  that  while  we  can 
single  out  cases  where  the  beef- bred  steer  has  produced  100  pounds 
of  gain  with  less  feed  than  the  dairy-bred  or  native  steer,  yet  the 
largest  amount  of  feed  consumed  by  any  animal  for  a  given  gain 
also  stands  charged  to  one  of  the  beef  type.  We  are  thus  unable 
from  the  data  at  hand  to  show  that  a  pound  of  feed  goes  further 
in  making  gain  with  beef-bred  animals  than  with  those  not 
specially  designed  for  that  purpose.  These  figures  are  a  sur- 
prise to  the  writer,  as  they  must  be  to  the  reader;  but  as  they 
represent  practically  all  the  work  done  at  the  Stations  to  date 
they  should  stand  for  the  present. 

571.  Early  maturity. —  The  most  common  claim  for  superiority  in 
the  beef  breeds  is  that  animals  so  bred  mature  earlier  than  others. 
Consulting  the  figures  given  in  the  next  table  we  find  that  steers 
of  the  strictly  dairy  breeds  reached  as  heavy  weight  as  did  several 
of  the  beef-breed  representatives.     Holstein  steers  made  substan- 
tially as  large  daily  gains  as  did  any  of  the  others,  and  Jersey  and 
Native  steers  rivaled  the  Devons.    So  far  as  data  from  the  Stations 
go,  we  have  no  evidence  that  beef -bred  animals  make  more  rapid 
growth  than  do  others.     The  claim  of  early  maturity,  then,  is  not 
substantiated  by  the  data  at  hand  if  daily  gain  in  live  weight  is 
the  sole  measure  used.     The  degree  of  maturity  of  the  animal  is 
not  measured  entirely,  however,  by  its  weight,  so  that  this  divis- 
ion of  the  subject  cannot  be  considered  as  covered  by  the  data 
presented  in  regard  to  daily  gain. 

572.  Dressed  weight  of  carcass.— %This  topic  naturally  follows 
that  just  presented,  and  fortunately,  from  the  experiments  last 
quoted,  we  have  data  at  command.     The  animals  used  in  the 
several  tests  at  the  Stations  were  slaughtered  and  the  weight  of  the 


Factors  in  Steer  Feeding. 


375 


carcasses  reported.     Gathering  the  data  into  a  table  we  have  the 
following: 

Dressed  weight  of  carcass  of  different  breeds  of  cattle  —  Various  Sta- 
tions. 


Breed. 

No.  of 
ani- 
mals. 

No.  of 

sta- 
tions. 

Av. 

age. 

Av.  live 
weight. 

Daily 
gain 
from 
birth. 

Limits 
of  dressed 
weight. 

Av. 

dressed 
weight. 

Hereford  

11 
2 
16 
2 
26 
6 
7 
1 
1 
6 
3 
9 

4 
1 
4 
1 
5 
3 
3 
1 
1 
3 
2 
3 

Days. 

983 
1,000 
976 
1,000 
1,011 
923 
1,021 
1,095 
1,021 
937 
1,058 
1,038 

Lbs. 

1,515 
1,520 
1,493 
1,570 
1,510 
1,503 
1,376 
1,320 
1,625 
1,469 
1,440 
1,259 

Lbs. 

1.54 
.1.52 
1.53 
1.57 
1.50 
1.62 
1.35 
1.20 
1.59 
1.57 
1.36 
1.26 

Per  cent. 

63.0-68.0 
63.8-66.5 
63.2-69.0 
64.8 
62.1-68 
62.0-66.7 
62.5-65.8 

Per  ct. 

65.0 
65.2 

64.8 
64.8 
64.4 
63.9 
63.6 
63.3. 
63.0 
62.6 
60.5 
60.2 

Red  Polled 

Aberdeen-  Angus 
Swiss           

Short-horn  

Galloway 

Devon 

\yrshire  

Sussex  

Holstein  

60.6-64.4 
58.7-63.9 
57.9-61.5 

Jersev 

Native 

The  data  referring  to  live  weight  at  the  time  of  slaughter  and 
daily  gain  from  birth  have  already  been  discussed;  let  us  now 
consider  the  dressed  weights  of  cattle  of  the  several  breeds.  The 
Ked  Polls  give  the  largest  percentage  of  dressed  carcass  to  live 
weight,  but  the  figures  are  the  average  for  two  animals  only, 
and  the  best  of  these  is  lower  than  the  best  of  the  representatives 
of  five  other  breeds.  Were  as  many  animals  included  as  there 
are  of  the  Short- horns,  for  example,  they  would  no  doubt  rank 
lower  in  the  list.  (See  Article  563. ) 

The  last  column  of  the  table  is  one  of  great  significance  and 
worthy  of  study  by  all  interested  in  the  problem  under  discussion. 
We  find  that  steers  of  the  so-called  beef  breeds  yield  from  64 
to  65  per  cent,  of  dressed  carcass  to  live  weight,  while  Native 
steers  and  those  of  the  dairy  breeds  dress  from  60  to  63  per 
cent.  Jersey  and  Native  steers  dress  the  lowest.  On  the  aver- 
age, eleven  Hereford  steers  fed  and  slaughtered  at  four  Experi- 
ment Stations  yielded  eight  per  cent,  more  dressed  carcass  to 
live  weight  than  did  nine  Native  steers  fed  at  three  Experiment 
Stations.  The  weights  of  the  native  and  dairy-bred  steers  are  so 
great  that  we  may  be  sure  they  were  fully  as  mature  and  as  well 


376 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


fatted  as  their  competitors.  Here  is  the  first  marked  difference 
between  beef-bred  and  other  cattle. 

573.  Percentage  of  loose  tallow  to  dressed  weight. —  At  the 

Iowa  Station, l  Wilson  and  Curtiss  found  a  larger  amount  of  fat 
about  the  internal  organs  of  steers  of  the  dairy  breeds  than  about 
the  viscera  of  animals  of  the  beef  breeds,  as  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing table: 

Dressed  weight  of  carcass  and  "loose"  tallow  of  steers  of  various 
breeds  —  Iowa  Station. 


Breed. 

Average 
dressed 
weight. 

Loose 
tallow. 

Per  cent,  of  loose 
tallow  to  beef. 

Short-horn  

Lbs. 
1,092 

Lbs. 
145 

13  3 

Hereford  

1,022 

129 

12.6 

Bed  Poll  

990 

125 

12  6 

Galloway 

1  088 

147 

13  5 

Angus. 

1,137 

156  5 

13  8 

Devon    .  

815 

122  5 

15  0 

Swiss  

1,017 

119 

11  7 

Holstein  

862 

155 

17  9 

Jersey  

880 

165.5 

18.8 

The  above  table  presents  most  important  data.  The  Short-horn 
steers  dressing  about  1,100  pounds  yielded  145  pounds,  or  13.3 
per  cent.,  of  loose  tallow.  Jersey  steers  averaging  880  pounds 
yielded  over  165  pounds,  or  18.8  per  cent. ,  of  loose  tallow.  These 
figures  are  corroborated  by  findings  in  the  same  direction  at  the 
Michigan'2  and  Missouri  Stations. 3  Commenting  on  the  character 
of  the  carcasses  of  steers  of  the  various  breeds  slaughtered  at  the 
Michigan  Station,  Davenport  wrote:  "Note  the  excess  of  rough 
tallow  in  Walton  (a  Holstein  steer)  as  compared  with  the  others. 
Walton  was  'all  cow,'  as  the  saying  goes,  and  the  fat  about  his 
kidneys  was  astonishing.77 

From  these  data  we  may  conclude  that  there  is  a  specific  dif 
ference  between  the  beef  and  dairy  breeds  in  the  disposition  of 
fat  in  the  body.     It  appears  that  the  beef  representatives,  when 
fattening,  place  a  large  portion  of  the  fat  between  the  muscular 
fibers  of  the  tissues.     Steers  of  the  dairy  breeds,  on  the  other 

'  Bui.  20.  2  Bui.  24.  *  Bui.  69. 


Factors  in  Steer  Feeding. 


377 


hand,  deposit  much,  fat  about  the  intestines  and  the  kidneys. 
Fat  intimately  commingled  with  the  muscular  fibers  of  the  tis- 
sues renders  such  meat  tender  and  toothsome;  when  placed  in 
separate  masses  anywhere  in  the  body,  and  especially  within 
the  body  cavity,  it  has  a  low  value  as  a  merchantable  article. 
While  fat  stored  as  in  the  dairy  breeds  may  be  best  placed  for 
animals  designed  for  milk  production,  such  disposition  is  certainly 
against  their  usefulness  in  beef  production.  In  this  distinction 
we  have  a  remarkable  example  of  the  effort  toward  specialization 
in  the  beef  and  dairy  breeds,  and  the  lesson  is  important  and  far- 
reaching.  Here,  then,  is  the  second  distinct  characteristic  of  the 
beef-bred  steer. 

574.  Proportion  of  valuable  parts  in  carcass. —  Georgeson  of  the 
Kansas  Station, l  and  Wilson  and  Curtiss  of  the  Iowa  Station, 2 
closed  feeding  trials  with  breed  representatives  by  forwarding  the 
animals  to  Swift  &  Co.,  Packers,  Chicago  and  Kansas  City,  for 
slaughter.  The  accompanying  table  presents  the  proportion  of 
the  several  parts  yielded  by  the  dressed  carcasses: 

Percentage  of  the  various  cuts  in  the  dressed  carcasses  of  Holstem,  Na- 
tive and  Short-horn  steers  —  Kansas  and  Iowa  Experiment  Stations. 


Kansas. 

Iowa. 

Short- 
horn. 

Native. 

Short- 
horn. 

Holstein. 

Ijoins  

16.6 
9.6 
22.9 
20.6 
13.5 
6.1 
10.7 

17.0 
10.1 
22.4 
20.8 
12.8 
5.8 
11.1 

17.1 
9.9 
22.9 
21.1 
15.4 
5.7 
7.9 

16.6 
10.2 
23.3 
21.9 
14.2 
6.4 
7.4 

Ribs  

Rounds 

Chucks  

Plates  

Shanks  

Minor  cheap  parts  

So  far  as  the  figures  go,  there  is  nothing  to  show  the  superiority 
of  the  beef  breeds  in  yielding  a  larger  percentage  of  high-priced 
cuts.  Of  course,  since  the  percentage  of  dressed  carcass  to  live 
weight  is  greater  in  the  beef  breeds,  they  actually  yield  somewhat 
more  pounds  of  valuable  parts  than  the  non-beef  breeds.  But 
such  data  are  not  final  on  the  point  in  question.  The  thickness 


1  Bui.  51. 


2  Bui.  20. 


378 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


of  the  flesh  over  the  carcass,  which  is  one  factor  of  its  worth  in  the 
market,  is  not  indicated  by  percentages  of  the  several  parts.  A 
thin-fleshed  steer  will  not  cut  up  percentagely  much  different  from 
one  that  furnishes  thick  cuts  of  meat. 

575.  Judgment  of  the  market. —  Difference  in  quality  is  quickly 
noted  in  the  market  and  prices  vary  accordingly.  The  eighteen 
steers  representing  nine  breeds  fattened  by  the  Iowa  Station,  when 
shipped  to  Chicago,  were  passed  upon  by  a  committee  of  three 
stock  buyers,  with  the  results  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Value  placed  by  experts  on  steers  of  nine  breeds  sold  by  the  Iowa 
Experiment  Station  at  the  Union  Stock  Yards,   Chicago. 


Breeds. 

Average 
live 
weight. 

Experts' 
valuation 
per  cwt. 

Hereford 

l,5251bs. 
l,6601bs. 
l,6351bs. 
l,7251bs. 
l,5201bs. 
l,5701bs. 
l,2901bs. 
l,4101bs. 
l,4301bs. 

$6.62J 
6.37i 
6.37i 
6.37< 
6.25 
6.00 
5.75 
5.00 
4.50 

Short-horn      .                                   

Galloway   

Aberdeen-Angus  

Bed  Polled  

Swiss  

Devon                                                                 

Holstein  .                                               

Jersev  ... 

Here  is  a  difference  between  the  highest  and  lowest  valuations 
of  $2.12  per  hundred  weight,  or  about  32  per  cent. 

In  the  slaughter  test  of  the  Kansas  Short-horns  and  Natives 
before  referred  to,  the  loins  of  the  best  Short-horns  were  rated  at 
18  cents  per  pound,  while  those  of  the  Natives  were  placed  as  low 
as  14  cents.  There  is  not  this  difference  in  actual  food  value 
between  the  carcasses  or  cuts,  but  the  exactions  of  the  market  are 
all-powerful  and  must  be  recognized  as  final  in  this  discussion. 

576.  Quality. —  Beyond  that  which  can  be  expressed  in  figures 
or  stated  percentagely  lies  that  indefinable  something  described 
by  the  word  "  quality, "  which  enters  into  this  as  into  all  other 
objects  of  barter.  No  one  can  compare  a  bunch  of  well-fed  beef 
bred  steers  with  one  representing  the  dairy  breeds  or  natives  with  - 
out  being  impressed  by  a  difference  not  measured  by  the  scales. 
Speaking  of  tho  breed  tests,  Wilson  and  Curtiss  write:  "The 
carcasses  of  the  dairy  breeds  lacked  in  thickness  of  cuts,  and  the 


Factors  in  Steer  Feeding.  379 

marbling  of  the  fat  and  lean  was  not  equal  to  that  of  the  others 
(beef  breeds).'7  Georgeson,  reviewing  his  results,  writes:  .  .  . 
"The  Short-horns  gave  the  best  returns,  not  simply  because  the 
gross  weight  of  their  carcasses  was  greater  than  that  of  the  scrubs, 
but  also  because  their  meat  was  esteemed  better  by  experts  in  the 
packing-house  who  were  asked  to  judge  of  the  quality  and  assign 
prices.'7  Of  the  Ontario  native;  Shaw  wrote:  " There  was  a 
lack  of  thickness  of  carcass  throughout,  the  deficiency  in  depth  of 
rib  and  loin  being  very  noticeable,  and  the  absence  of  what  may 
be  termed  fleshiness  was  conspicuous." 

577.  In  conclusion. —  In  our  study  of  the  value  of  specific  breed- 
ing for  beef  production  we  have  found,  as  shown  in  the  preceding 
articles,  that  the  steer  bred  for  beef  does  not  consume  less  feed 
than  do  others  of  the  same  weight,  nor  does  he  necessarily  reach  a 
given  weight  in  less  days,  though  generally  such  is  the  case.     Nor 
do  our  figures  show  that  100  pounds  of  gain,  live  weight,  can  be 
made  by  the  beef  steer  with  less  feed  than  other  cattle  require. 

The  first  specific  difference  13  found  in  the  marked  superiority 
of  true  beef  cattle  in  yielding  a  larger  percentage  of  dressed  weight 
to  live  carcass.  A  second  difference  of  deep  significance  is  in 
the  disposition  of  the  fat,  the  beef  steer  placing  this  surplus 
material  where  it  serves  its  highest  purpose  as  human  food  — 
among  the  muscular  fibers  of  the  tissues, —  while  the  dairy -bred 
animal  deposits  it  in  quantity  about  the  viscera. 

"While  if  we  divide  the  dressed  carcass  into  the  several  parts 
required  by  the  trade  we  cannot  show  that  the  proportion  of  these 
varies  in  cattle  of  different  breeds,  yet  the  thickness  of  the  flesh 
of  these  parts  is  certainly  in  favor  of  the  beef  breeds. 

These  differences,  with  others  which  cannot  be  distinctly  speci- 
fied coming  under  the  term  "  quality,"  combine  to  make  the  beef 
steer  what  his  name  indicates  —  an  animal  specifically  designed 
for  the  most  favorable  production  of  the  best  meat. 

HI.   Other  Findings. 

578.  Dressed  weight  of  cattle. —  The  percentage  of  dressed 
carcass  to  live  weight  of  cattle  varies  according  to  several  condi- 
tions, the  leading  of  which  are:  1,  the  age  of  the  animal j  2,  the 


380 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


degree  to  which,  it  has  been  fattened;  and  3,  the  breed  or  beef 
character.  This  last  point  has  already  been  noted.  Let  us  con- 
sider the  other  two  conditions. 

In  studying  the  effects  of  age  we  turn  to  the  records  of  the 
American  Fat-Stock  Show1  for  the  year  1884,  which  show: 

Slaughter  test  at  the  American  Fat-Stock  Show,  Chicago. 


Age  of  animals. 

Number 
of  ani- 
mals. 

Live 
weight  at 
slaughter. 

Weight 
of  dressed 
carcass. 

Per  cent,  of 
dressed  car- 
cass to  live 
weight. 

Three  years  and  under  four.. 
Two  years  and  under  three- 
One  year  and  under  two  
Under  one  year. 

10 
11 
6 
1 

Lbs. 

2,025 
1,631 
1,240 
930 

Lbs. 

1,378 
1,089 
789 
562 

67 
66 
63 
60 

Here  we  find  that  three-year-old  steers  dressed  67  per  cent,  of 
the  shrunken  live  weight  of  the  animal,  while  those  under  one  year 
gave  only  60  per  cent,  of  dressed  carcass.  The  importance  of 
maturity  on  the  returns  of  dressed  carcass  is  here  shown. 

The  degree  of  fattening  also  determines  the  percentage  of  valu- 
able parts.  In  fattening,  the  weight  of  the  secondary  parts  of  the 
steer  is  not  materially  increased;  for  example,  the  head,  hide, 
hoofs  and  viscera  do  not  increase  much  in  weight,  while  the  car- 
cass proper  weighs  more  because  of  the  large  percentage  of  fat 
added.  Common  steers  but  little  fattened  may  yield  no  more  than 
fifty  per  cent,  of  live  weight  in  carcass,  dressing  away  one-half. 

579.  Shrinkage  due  to  shipping. —  At  the  Kansas  Station/ 
Georgeson  found  that  steers  weighing  1,350  pounds  shrank  from 
9  to  68  pounds  per  head,  the  average  being  27  pounds,  when 
shipped  from  Manhattan  to  Kansas  City,  a  distance  of  about  one 
hundred  miles.  Steers  weighing  1, 550  pounds,  shipped  from  the 
Iowa  Station3  to  Chicago,  about  three  hundred  miles,  shrunk  71.5 
pounds.  Steers  shipped  from  the  Ohio  Station  at  Wooster4  to 
Pittsburg,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  weighed  somewhat 
more  Monday,  after  watering,  than  at  home  Saturday  before 
watering. 

1  Breeder's  Gazette,  Chicago,  1884,  p.  824.    2  Bui.  39.    8  Bui.  20.    *  Bui.  60. 


CHAPTER 

COUNSEL  IN  THE  FEED   LOT. 

I.  Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle. 

580.  Indian  corn. —  Indian  corn  must  continue  the  great  grain 
food  for  steer  fattening  in  the  United  States.     While  we  can- 
not vie  with  England  in  luxuriance  of  pasture,  the  advantage 
given  our  farmers  by  the  corn  plant  more  than  offsets  this,  and 
places  us  at  the  front  in  beef  production.     Xo  concentrate  is  so 
relished  by  cattle  as  corn,  the  kernels  of  which  carry  consider- 
able oil,  rendering  them  toothsome  and  palatable  to  a  degree  not 
equaled  by  other  grain.     Not  only  does  corn  carry  oil,  but  it  is 
loaded  with  starch,  likewise  a  fat-former,  thus  affording  the  nu- 
triment needed  for  filling  the  tissues  of  the  steer's  body  with  fat, 
rendering  the  muscles  tender  and  juicy.     The  success  of  steer 
feeding  in  America  must  depend  largely  upon  the  supply  of 
Indian  corn  available  for  this  purpose. 

581.  Beef  returns  per  acre  of  corn. —  Stewart1  reports  a  trial 
conducted  by  himself  with  ten  steers  averaging  1,175  pounds, 
which  were  fed  four  measured  acres  of  shock  corn  estimated  to 
yield  40  bushels  of  grain  per  acre.     The  unhusked  shock  corn 
was  run  through  a  feed  cutter,  and  40  pounds  of  the  mixture, 
with  2  pounds  of  linseed  meal,  given  daily.     The  four  acres 
of  corn  lasted  70  days,  each  steer  gaining  200  pounds  on  the  aver- 
age in  that  time.    Allowing  for  the  oil  meal,  the  author  concludes 
that  this  corn  crop  gave  a  return  of  400  pounds  of  beef  per  acre, 
which,  at  five  cents  per  pound  for  the  increase,  yields  $20  for  an 
acre  of  corn  so  fed.     This  is  about  twice  the  returns  obtained  by 
Morrow  from  an  acre  of  Illinois  pasture  grazed  by  yearling  steers. 

582.  Plain  feeding  of  corn  recommended. —  The  practice,  com- 
mon in  the  corn  belt,  of  supplying  unhusked  or  unground  corn  to 
steers,  has  developed  the  feeling  among  Eastern  feeders  that  the 

1  Feeding  Animals,  p.  311. 


382  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

method  is  wasteful  and  could  be  immensely  improved  by  grinding 
the  grain.  "No  one  can  study  the  Western  situation  without  be- 
coming impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  better  class  of  these 
feeders  are,  after  all,  about  right  in  this  practice.  Corn  is  never 
so  acceptable  to  a  steer  as  when  unhusked.  There  is  a  freshness 
und  palatability  about  an  ear  of  corn  wrapt  in  Nature' s  covering 
which  every  steer  recognizes  and  shows  by  the  eagerness  with 
which  he  consumes  it. 

Feeding  shock  corn  is  a  satisfactory  practice  in  many  instances, 
for  the  crop  is  then  handled  with  the  least  labor.  The  fodder 
with  its  wealth  of  ears  is  thrown  into  long  feed  racks  standing  in 
an  open  lot  or  under  a  shed,  the  steers  doing  the  husking  and 
grinding.  Some  fodder  is  eaten,  and  the  waste  ears  and  grains 
are  eagerly  picked  up  by  shotes  running  with  the  steers. 

Snapped  corn,  i.  e. ,  ears  severed  from  the  stalks  but  still  wrapt 
in  the  husks,  is  successfully  used  for  steer  feeding.  Husked  ear 
corn  is  extensively  fed,  though  the  grains  are  not  so  fresh  as  in 
the  two  forms  named  above  and  are  not  always  so  acceptable 
because  of  another  condition,  viz.,  hardness  of  the  grains.  Corn 
in  the  crib  exposed  to  the  dry  air  of  the  West  often  becomes  very 
hard  and  the  grains  injure  the  mouth  of  the  steer  in  the  process 
of  mastication.  To  avoid  this  difficulty  the  ears  are  chopped  or 
broken  into  pieces  or  fed  after  soaking.  Soaking  does  not  render 
the  grain  more  digestible,  but  enables  the  steer  to  crush  it  with 
more  ease  and  often  to  consume  a  larger  quantity. 

Trials  at  the  Stations  show  that  corn  meal  gives  larger  gains 
with  steers  than  the  same  weight  of  unground  grain.  It  is  prob- 
able also  that  meal  permits  of  a  higher  finish  with  steers  than 
unground  corn.  Practical  experience  and  studies  by  the  Stations 
show  that  pigs  following  steers  fed  corn  meal  get  very  little  from 
the  droppings;  not  because  such  droppings  are  without  nutri- 
ment, but  rather  because  the  meal  in  the  droppings  is  in  a  form 
which  cannot  be  utilized  by  the  pig. 

Eeviewing  the  subject  from  the  standpoint  of  experiment  and 
practice,  the  writer  is  of  the  opinion  that  where  corn  is  cheap  the 
Western  custom  of  feeding  it  whole  to  steers  with  lively  shotes 
following  is  the  most  economical,  all  things  considered,  if  ration- 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle.  383 

ally  practiced.  In  general,  directions  for  feeding  cheap  corn  may 
be  summed  up  by  the  single  statement:  Let  the  feeder  supply  this 
grain  to  his  cattle  in  the  most  inexpensive  manner  possible  so 
long  as  they  consume  full  rations  without  difficulty  in  mastication. 
(536,  538) 

583.  Preparing  corn  for  feeding. —  Not  infrequently  the  feeder 
must  prepare  corn  for  his  cattle, — the  large  size  of  the  ears, 
the  dryness  of  the  grain,  or  other  conditions  rendering  some 
treatment  necessary.     Soaking  the  corn  has  already  been  re- 
ferred to  and  may  often  be  practiced  with  advantage.    The  simplest 
form  of  reduction  is  the  rather  crude  but  common  practice  of 
breaking  the  ears,  in  the  feed  box,  into  three  or  four  pieces, 
using  a  hatehet.     Another  satisfactory  method  of  preparation  is 
to  reduce  the  ears,  with  or  without  husks,  to  a  reasonable  degree 
of  fineness  by  running  them  through  a  crusher,  which  breaks  the 
cobs  into  many  pieces,  cracking  some  of  the  kernels.     Corn  and 
cob  meal  has  been  found  very  satisfactory  by  feeders,  the  animals 
not  getting  uoff  feed"  so  easily  as  when  pure  meal  is  fed. 

As  before  stated,  larger  returns  can  be  secured  from  corn  meal 
than  from  whole  grain,  but  there  are  several  disadvantages 
attendant  upon  its  use.  Little  or  nothing  can  be  gained  by  pigs 
following  steers  fed  corn  meal,  and  because  of  its  heavy  nature 
indigestion  and  other  difficulties  commonly  attend  its  use.  Corn 
meal  should  never  be  fed  alone  in  large  quantity,  but  should 
be  diluted  or  given  increased  bulk  by  the  addition  of  bran,  oil 
meal  or  other  substance,  in  which  case  the  dangers  incident  to  its 
use  are  usually  overcome.  The  claim  that  toward  the  close  of  the 
fattening  period  corn  meal  is  especially  useful  in  giving  more  finish 
is  probably  correct,  on  the  theory  that  the  digestive  organs  have 
become  weakened  by  the  continued  feeding  of  whole  corn,  and 
their  activities  are  in  some  measure  renewed  when  the  steer  is 
given  meal. 

The  amount  of  corn  to  be  fed  fattening  steers  and  the  gain 
made  are  shown  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

584.  Bran. —  This  by-product  was  at  first  regarded  with  favor 
only  by  dairymen.    Gradually  the  steer  feeder  is  learning  its  value 
in  connection  with  other  grain  in  the  feed  box.     Because  of  its 


384  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

bulky  character  and  its  cooling,  slightly  laxative  properties,  bran 
is  a  most  excellent  dilutent  for  corn  meal,  cotton-seed  meal  and 
other  heavy  food  substances.  Where  it  can  be  obtained  at  a  rea- 
sonable price,  the  stockman  will  find  much  satisfaction  in  mixing 
one-third  its  weight  of  bran  with  corn  meal.  (544) 

585.  OH  meal. —  Oil  meal  is  an  article  of  great  importance  in 
the  feed  lot.    The  highly  carbonaceous  Indian  corn  has  the  reputa- 
tion of  rapidly  " burning  up"  the  digestive  tract  of  the  steer 
when  fed  continuously  in  large  quantity.     Oil  meal,  though  an 
exceedingly  rich  food,  is  of  the  opposite  nature,  and  when  fed 
in  reasonable  amount  has  a  cooling   and   generally  beneficial 
effect  on  the  system.     The  feeder  who  uses  from  two  to  four 
pounds  of  oil  meal  a  day  with  corn  in  any  form  will  be  pleased  with 
the  result.     A  steer  fed  oil  meal  has  a  glossy  coat  and  a  handling 
quality  not  attained  without  the  use  of  this  feed.   (206)     This 
quality  indicates  the  value  of  oil  meal  for  the  finishing  period  in 
steer  fattening.     The  feeder  should  use  oil  cake  in  nut  form  rather 
than  as  meal. 

586.  Roots. —  In  steer  feeding,  roots  are  valuable,  especially  in 
the  earlier  stages,  because  of  their  cooling  effect  and  the  nutri- 
ment they  afford.     At  first  50  or  60  pounds  of  roots  may  be  fed 
daily  to  each  steer.     As  the  fattening  period  progresses,  the 
quantity  should  be  diminished  to  allow  the  flesh  to  become  firm. 
For  steer  feeding,  roots  should  always  be  sliced  or  pulped.     In  the 
latter  case  the  pulped  mass  is  mixed  with  chaffed  hay  or  straw 
and  held  until  the  dry  forage  has  become  moist  and  soft.     The 
mangel  is  preferred  for  steer  feeding.   (325-6,  549) 

587.  Silage. —  If  the  stockman  desires  a  cheap,  succulent  feed 
for  his  cattle  in  winter,  he  will  find  it  in  corn  silage.     The  same 
quantity  of  nutriment  that  a  root  crop  yields  can  be  produced 
more  economically  in  corn  forage  stored  in  the  shape  of  silage, 
and  this  article  can  be  fed  with  satisfaction  to  steers  during  the 
early  stages  of  fattening.     At  first  as  much  as  40  or  50  pounds 
of  silage  may  be  given  daily  to  each  steer;  when  the  full  grain- 
feeding  period  arrives  let  the  allowance  be  cut  down  to  25  or  30 
pounds  per  day.     A  limited  use  of  this  feed  will  keep  the  system 
cool  and  the  appetite  vigorous.   (550) 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle.  385 

588.  Turning  to  pasture. —  There  are  two  theories  in  regard  to 
the  proper  time  for  turning  steers  to  grass,  each  with  points  of 
advantage.     It  is  generally  advocated  by  American  writers  that 
stock  be  kept  in  the  yard  until  the  pastures  furnish  an  abundance  of 
nutritious  grass.     Often  when  stock  is  turned  on  such  pastures  the 
ration  of  the  feed-lot  is  at  once  cut  off,  in  which  case  the  change 
is  so  violent  as  to  give  the  cattle  a  serious  set-back.     Under  the 
other  system  the  cattle  are  turned  to  pasture  as  soon  as  the  grass 
begins  to  grow,  and  while  the  springing  blades  are  still  watery 
and  furnish  little  nutriment.     The  lack  of  feed  in  the  pasture 
forces  the  stock  to  rely  on  the  feed  rack  to  satisfy  hunger.    While 
the  first  grass  yields  little  nutriment,  it  still  has  an  effect  on  the 
digestive  system  and  prepares  the  animal  gradually  for  the  change 
from  dry  feed  to  the  rich  grass  which  soon  follows.     It  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  stock  shrink  badly  when  changed  from  feed- 
lot  to  pasture,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  practice  of  turning 
early  to  grass,  at  the  same  time  keeping  up  heavy  feeding,  is 
better  than  holding  cattle  longer  on  dry  food  only  and  then  shift- 
ing at  once  to  full  pasture.     In  any  event,  let  grain  and  some 
dry  forage  be  still  offered  the  cattle  when  first  turned  to  grass. 

589.  Large  versus  small  pastures. —  The  subject  of  large  or 
small  pastures  is  frequently  discussed.     The  majority  of  experi- 
enced American  feeders  favor  a  single  large  range  rather  than 
numerous  small  pastures.     Grasses,  both  in  variety  and  quality, 
are  never  quite  the  same  over  the  whole  of  a  large  pasture,  and 
cattle  soon  detect  the  slight  differences  and  satisfy  their  desire  for 
variety  by  ranging  from  one  spot  to  another.     In  large  pastures 
the  habits  of  the  animals  become  regular,  and  it'is  interesting  to 
study  their  movements.     The  herd  will  be  found  in  the  morning 
on  one  side  of  the  valley,  feeding  on  the  more  abundant  vegeta- 
tion; later  as  the  sun's  heat  increases  they  appear  on  the  hill- 
side, where  there  is  a  movement  of  air  and  where  the  grasses  are 
shorter  but  more  nutritious;  while  at  noon  they  are  to  be  seen 
resting  in  the  shade  at  still  another  point.     This  regularity  in 
grazing  certainly  conduces  to  comfort  and  quiet  and  is  of  impor- 
tance to  profitable  returns.     Where  the  pastures  are  cut  up  into 
several  lots,  the  fresh  bite  of  rank  herbage  which  comes  with  each 

change  leads  to  irregularity  and  unrest,  thus  reducing  the  gains, 
25 


386  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

590.  The  possibilities  of  pastures. —  Sir  J.  B.  Lawes1  reports 
a  pasture  of  14  acres  in  Leicestershire,  England,  on  which  17  oxen 
were  grazed  without  artificial  food  throughout  the  season,  return- 
ing from  500  to  600  pounds  of  increase,  live  weight,  per  acre. 

From  Morrow's  trials  (554—5)  we  are  led  to  estimate  that  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  on  the  richer  farming  lands,  we  may  look 
for  about  200  pounds  of  gain  with  steers  from  each  acre  of  tame 
pasture.  This  gives  land  capable  of  these  results  a  value  of  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre  for  that  purpose  at  a  reason- 
able rate  of  interest  on  the  money  invested. 

591.  Grain  feeding  on  pastures. —  The  writer  once  heard  J.  D. 
Gillett,  the  great  Illinois  steer  feeder  of  the  last  generation,  say 
that  he  could  not  afford  to  fatten  steers  in  winter.     His  cattle 
were  fattened  in  the  summer  and  fall,  subsisting  in  winter  in  stalk- 
fields  and  on  the  dry  grasses  of  the  pastures.     In  summer  they 
luxuriated  in  rich  old  blue- grass  pastures  where  the  feed  boxes 
always  stood  loaded  with  grain.    The  great  success  attained  by  this 
feeder  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  wisdom  of  his  practice  with 
the  conditions  and  markets  then  prevailing  —  good  prices  for 
well-fattened  cattle. 

"Wallace, 2  in  summarizing  the  experience  of  numerous  cattle 
feeders  in  the  West,  writes:  "The  general  opinion  seems  to  be 
that  good  steers  fed  grain  on  grass  will  gain  from  75  to  100 
pounds  per  month,  and  that  steers  on  good  pasture  will,  during 
the  two  or  three  most  favorable  grazing  months,  gain  almost  as 
much  on  grass  alone.  .  .  .  From  all  the  facts  I  have  been  able 
to  obtain,  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  in  general  there  is  not 
much  money  in  »f ceding  grain  to  steers  that  are  on  full  pasture  of 
the  best  kind." 

Where  pastures  carry  a  sufficient  growth  of  grass  for  full  feed 
even  during  mid-summer,  it  is  usually  best  to  allow  the  cattle  to 
subsist  entirely  on  natural  herbage,  for  this  is  of  low  cost,  and 
animals  relying  upon  their  own  exertions  gather  their  food  vigor- 
ously and  willingly,  wasting  no  time  in  standing  idly  waiting 
for  food.  Where  the  pastures  run  short  in  mid-summer,  and  the 
lack  of  food,  together  with  flies  and  heat,  are  cutting  down  gains 
already  made,  feeding  with  grain  should  be  practiced. 

*  Kept.  Ont.  Agr.  Col..  1886. 

>  Live  Stock  Report,  Chicago,  June  3,  1892. 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle.  387 

Where  steers  are  grained  on  pasture,  the  feeder  begins  in  the 
spring  by  supplying  about  one  peck  of  corn  per  head,  increasing 
the  amount  to  fully  one-third  of  a  bushel  daily  by  mid-summer 
for  grown  steers.  The  corn  is  dealt  out  once  a  day  in  a  feed  box 
in  the  lot.  Pigs  should  follow  to  save  the  waste.  Instead  of 
giving  corn  only,  it  is  better,  when  possible,  to  substitute  two  or 
three  pounds  of  oil  meal  or  bran  for  the  same  weight  of  corn. 
The  feed  should  always  be  supplied  at  the  same  hour.  Where 
grain  is  fed,  not  over  half  the  usual  area  of  pasture  land  is  re- 
quired. Pasture- fed  steers  eat  about  as  much  grain  as  if  confined 
to  the  feed  lot.  (555) 

592.  Water. —  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  fattening  steer 
must  be  supplied  with  sufficient  water  to  slake  his  thirst,  for 
otherwise  he  would  grow  restless  and  fail  to  make  proper  gain. 
No  effort  should  be  made,  however,  to  induce  him  to  consume 
large  quantities  of  water,  which  is  considered  to  have  a  somewhat 
depleting  effect  on  the  body  tissues.   (73)     Many  good  feeders 
insist  that  there  be  water  before  the  cattle  at  all  times,  and  usu- 
ally this  is  the  more  convenient  arrangement.    If  water  is  supplied 
but  once  a  day,  care  should  be  taken  that  all  animals  have  oppor- 
tunity for  a  good  fill. 

593.  Salting. —  Animals  fed  large  quantities  of  nutritious  food, 
such  as  fattening  steers  receive,  show  a  strong  desire  for  salt,  and 
this  craving  should  be  satisfied  by  a  reasonable  supply.     The 
excessive  use  of  salt  leads  to  a  heavy  consumption  of  water, 
thereby  increasing  the  flow  of  urine  —  a  result  not  desirable. 
(72-3,  85)     Kiihn1  recommends  one  ounce  of  salt  per  day,  for  a 
steer  weighing  1,000  pounds,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fattening 
period,  one  and  one-third  of  an  ounce  at  the  middle,  and  one  and 
two-thirds  of  an  ounce  at  the  close.     The  form  of  salt  to  be  sup- 
plied to  cattle,  granular  or  rock,  is  a  matter  of  convenience  with 
the  stockman. 

594.  What  fattening  the  steer  means. —  It  is  important  to  have 
a  clear  knowledge  of  what  the  fattening  process  is.     The  grown 
steer,  with  framework  of  bone  overlaid  with  muscles  and  encased 

1  Emahr.  d.  Eindviehes,  9th  ed.,  p.  325. 


388  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

in  hide,  requires  a  certain  amount  of  nutriment  for  mere  exist- 
ence. To  supply  this  only,  enables  him  to  continue  existence, 
but  does  not  appease  his  appetite,  which  craves  still  more  food. 
If  provender  beyond  the  requirements  for  maintenance  is  supplied, 
more  or  less  of  the  surplus  is  converted  into  fat  and  stowed  away 
among  the  muscular  tissues  of  the  body,  in  the  bones,  under  the 
hide  and  about  the  viscera.  This  fat  is  fuel  in  the  animal  economy, 
for  which  Nature  shows  an  eagerness  by  manufacturing  and  lay- 
ing up  a  certain  amount  against  the  time  of  need.  Impelled  by  a 
hearty  appetite,  the  steer  at  first  gains  rapidly  in  fat,  gratifying 
the  feeder  in  the  increase  reported  by  the  scales.  After  fat- 
tening has  progressed  a  few  months,  the  appetite  of  the  steer 
loses  its  keen  edge,  and  he  shows  a  daintiness  when  taking  his 
food  not  at  first  exhibited.  If  placed  on  the  scales  from  time  to 
time,  he  shows  smaller  and  smaller  gains.  Every  pound  of  in- 
crease now  requires  more  pounds  of  feed  than  at  first.  The  fat- 
tening process  may  be  likened  to  inflating  a  bicycle  tire  or  a  foot- 
ball with  air.  The  operation  is  rapid  and  easy  at  first,  but  be- 
comes more  and  more  difficult  until  the  limit  is  reached.  Finally, 
the  steer,  though  consuming  a  fair  amount  of  feed,  shows  no  gain 
whatever.  He  has  been  fattened  to  his  limit,  and  though  he  may 
be  held  there  for  a  time  he  will  soon  begin  to  retrograde,  just  as 
a  ripened  apple  grows  poorer  in  quality  after  perfection  has  been 
reached.  The  feeder,  recognizing  this,  should  aim  to  fatten  his 
cattle  rapidly,  and,  as  soon  as  they  are  acceptably  fat,  dispose  oi 
them  without  delay.  To  continue  fattening  longer  than  demanded 
by  the  market,  or  to  hold  cattle  when  once  fattened,  adds  greatly 
to  their  cost.  (565) 

595.  Cost  of  feeding  increases  with  age. —  Excluding  birth 
weight,  the  steer  maintains  a  practically  uniform  rate  of  gain 
until  he  becomes  two  years  old.  While  this  is  true  in  relation  to 
gain  in  weight,  we  have  shown  that  the  cost  of  producing  the  gain 
in  the  second  year  is  about  double  that  for  the  first,  and  for  the 
third  the  cost  is  about  three  times  that  of  the  first  year.  Eecog- 
nizing  these  facts,  the  stockman  who  grows  the  cattle  he  feeds 
should  place  them  on  the  market  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible, 
other  conditions  being  equal.  (563-4) 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle.  389 

596.  Cost  of  finished  steer. —  Anything  from  the  lips  or  pen  of 

that  king  of  feeders  of  the  last  generation,  J.  D.  Gillett,  should 
be  preserved.  Here  is  Mr.  Gillett's  estimate  of  the  cost  of  grow- 
ing a  steer  up  to  thirty -six  months  of  age:1 

Cost  of  steer  twelve  months  old. 

Value  of  calf  at  birth $3  00 

Expenses  of  dam  of  calf,  chargeable  to  calf  for  one  year  as  fol- 
lows: eight  per  cent,  interest  on  $50,  value  of  cow 4  00 

Keep  of  yearling  and  feed  of  cow  12  months 12  25 

Insurance  on  cow 1  00 

Bisk  of  failure  of  cow  to  breed 1  75 

Loss  of  calves  by  death,  etc , 1  00 

No  corn  fed  up  to  12  months. 

Value  of  pasture  and  keep  up  to  12  months 6  00 

Total 29  00 

Weight  of  calf  at  12  months,  700  pounds,  at  five  cents 35  00 

Profit  at  12  months  of  age 6  00 

Cost  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  months  of  age. 

Value  of  steer  at  12  months  of  age $35  00 

Value  of  shock  corn,  flO  bushels,  at  35  cents 38  50 

Pasture  12  to  24  months 3  00 

Interest  and  risk 2  80 

Total 79  30 

Less  500  pounds  pork  made  on  droppings  of  steer,  at  five  cents. ...  25  00 

Net  cost  12  to  24  months 54  30 

Weight  of  steer  at  24  months  1,600  pounds,  at  six  and  a  half  cents  104  00 

Profit  at  12  months  of  age 49  70 

Cost  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  montfts  of  age. 

Value  of  steer  at  24  months  of  age $104  00 

Value  of  shock  corn  consumed  in  entire  year,  125  bus.,  at  35  cents  43  75 

Pasture,  May  1  to  Nov.  1 4  00 

Interest  and  risk 8  32 

Total 160  07 

Less  500  pounds  pork  at  five  cents,  made  on  droppings  of  steer...  25  00 

Cost  at  36  months  of  age... 135  07 

Weight  at  36  months  of  age,  2,200  pounds,  at  seven  cents 154  00 

Profit  at  36  months  of  age 18  93 

1  Fugitive  paper  copied  into  Farmers'  Review,  Chicago,  Dec.  7,  1882. 


390  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

In  those  days  prices  for  grain,  interest  rates,  and  especially 
prices  of  fat  cattle,  were  higher  than  at  present,  and  the  student 
in  using  the  figures  must  make  allowance  for  the  changes  wrought 
by  time:  the  lesson  taught  still  stands. 

597.  Modern  market  demands. —  Some  readers  will  recall  the 
period  when  it  was  not  considered  advisable  to  fatten  a  steer  until 
he  was  five  years  old;  a  much  larger  number  will  recollect  the 
early  exhibits  at  the  American  Fat-Stock  Show,  Chicago,  where 
prizes  were  given  for  "big  steers"  often  five  or  more  years  old 
and  weighing  up  to  two  tons.     The  long-legged,  raw-boned  creat- 
ures that  competed  for  premiums  in  those  days  are  a  thing  of  the 
past,  though  there  is  still  room  for  improvement.     The  butcher 
now  calls  for  "  handy  "  steers,  ranging  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds 
in  weight.     These  are  well  described  in  the  following,  taken  from 
Bell's  Messenger:1     "The  winner  now  has  to  be  short-legged, 
broad  and  deep,  full  in  the  flank,  well  sprung  ribs,  and  good 
twist.     His  bottom  lines  should  be  as  straight  as  his  top  lines, 
and  as  wide,  and  he  should  have  no  thick,  patchy  fat  anywhere. 
Experience  has  shown  that  thick-bodied,   short-legged  steers, 
with  full  flanks,  pay  the  feeder  best,  and  give  best  profit  to  the 
butcher.     Big  ones  are  no  longer  needed.     Small  sizes  are  best, 
with  plenty  of  quality,  and  with  youth  on  their  side  the  meat  is 
juicy  and  tender.    Age  is  counted  in  months  now,  instead  of  years, 
and  the  change  is  for  the  better." 

To  produce  steers  which  meet  these  requirements  a  high  degree 
of  skill  and  judgment  must  be  exercised  in  breeding  and  feeding. 
From  the  tables  we  are  taught  the  important  lesson  that  less  feed 
is  required  to  bring  animals  to  the  required  standard  because  of 
the  smaller  size  of  the  individuals  when  fattened.  High  skill  in 
breeding  and  feeding  thus  oppose  the  plainer  breeding  and  slower 
feeding  of  former  times. 

598.  Early  maturity. —  What  can  be  accomplished  in  the  way  of 
early  maturity  is  illustrated  by  results  obtained  by  Mr.  "W.  A. 
Harris,   of  Linwood,  Kansas. 2     Mr.  Harris  fed  pure-bred  and 
grade  Short-horn  calves,  coming  in  December,  January  and  Feb- 

1  Quoted  in  Live  Stock  Kept.,  Chicago,  July  19,  1895. 

2  Breeder's  Gazette,  Chicago,  1890,  p.  437. 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle.  391 

ruary,  until  the  following  December,  at  which  time  they  averaged 
eleven  months  old.  These  calves  received  most  of  their  dam's 
milk  until  six  or  seven  months  old.  Mr.  Harris  calculates  that 
they  consumed  — 

20  bushels  of  ear  corn,  worth $5 

1,000  pounds  of  bran,  worth 6 

300  pounds  of  oil  meal,  worth 3 

Total  costof  grain $14 

In  addition  they  had  pastures  and  what  hay  they  would  eat, 
valued  at  $4.  These  calves  weighed  from  910  to  920  pounds 
each  at  eleven  months  and  sold  from  $3.80  to  $5  per  hundred, 
which  returns  are  certainly  satisfactory  when  the  short  time  for 
turning  the  capital  involved  is  considered.  All  farmers  are  not 
in  position  to  follow  such  forcing  methods  as  these,  yet  it  is  well  to 
bear  this  extreme  example  in  mind,  and  consider  whether  or  not 
the  results  cannot  be  approximated  if  not  actually  attained. 

599.  Low-pressure  feeding. —  Under  the  system  just  recom- 
mended, much  costly  concentrated  feed  is  required.     There  are 
farms  on  which  the  high-pressure  system  is  not  advisable,  but 
where  cattle  may  be  profitably  fed  by  following  an  almost  oppo- 
site method.     On  farms  where  there  are  large  quantities  of  hay, 
straw  and  corn  forage,  together  with  ample  pastures,  it  is  possi- 
ble to  practice  a  system  which  utilizes  all  these,  reserving  most  of 
the  grain  grown  for  use  during  the  final  fattening  period.     Under 
this  system  the  calves  designed  ultimately  for  beef  are  fed  a  small 
amount  of  grain  only  during  the  first  year,  receiving  an  abun- 
dance of  roughage  in  winter  and  running  on  good  pastures  in  sum- 
mer.    Such  stock  should  more  than  hold  its  weight  in  winter  and 
gain  heavily  on  the  pastures  in  summer.     Heavy  feeding  with 
grain  begins  when  the  steers  are  two  years  old.     Well-bred  steers 
from  30  to  36  months  old  raised  in  this  manner,  fed  grain  in  quantity 
only  during  the  last  five  or  six  months,  should  weigh  from  1,300 
to  1,500  pounds  —  a  size  ample  for  market  demands. 

600.  The  feed  lot. —  Dry,  protected  yards,  with  sheds  on  the 
windward  side  under  which  the  animals  may  lie  in  comfort,  form 
the  ideal  place  for  steer  feeding.     To  keep  the  steer  stanchioned 
or  confined  by  a  rope  in  the  stable  entails  useless  labor  on  the 


392  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

stockman,  prevents  proper  exercise,  and  conduces  to  a  filthy  ap- 
pearance of  the  animal,  thus  working  against  the  best  gains  and 
the  highest  sale  price.  Crude  as  has  been  much  of  the  open-yard 
feeding  in  the  West,  the  cattle  so  fed  have  really  experienced 
more  comfort  than  had  they  been  confined  in  the  stable,  as  is 
common  in  the  East.  The  fattening  steer  places  the  excess  food 
in  an  increasing  layer  of  fat  under  the  skin,  which  retains  the 
heat.  His  food  is  heating  in  character,  and,  being  in  a  plethoric 
condition,  he  much  prefers  the  open  air  and  sunshine  with  the 
freedom  of  the  yard,  even  in  winter,  to  the  confinement  of  the 
stable  with  its  foul  air  and  cramped  quarters. 

601.  Feed  racks. —  Let  the  sheds  be  so  constructed  as  to  afford 
protection  from  the  winds  and  driving  storms.     Either  under  the 
shed,  where  accessible  by  wagon,  or  in  an  open  lot  which  the  shed 
faces,  and  close  by,  arrange  racks  for  fodder  and  boxes  for  grain. 
It  is  not  well  to  have  feed  boxes  and  fodder  rack  combined,  since 
the  litter  from  the  forage  falling  upon  the  feed  renders  it  distaste- 
ful to  cattle  with  dainty  appetites. 

602.  Frequency  of  feeding. —  There  is  nothing  helpful  on  this 
point  from  experiments,  and  when  we  turn  to  feeders  for  light  we 
find  a  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  proper  practice.     It  is  rea- 
sonable that  all  young  animals  should  be  fed  at  least  three  times 
a  day,  while  those  approaching  maturity  and  not  heavily  fed  are 
amply  provided  for  in  two  feeds.     Maturing  cattle  prosper,  and 
perhaps  do  their  best,  when  supplied  grain  but  once  a  day,  with 
roughage  to  run  to  at  pleasure.     It  is  certain  that  many  of  the 
best  feeders  at  the  West  supply  grain  but  once  a  day.     The  once- 
fed  steer  goes  to  the  though  with  paunch  well  emptied  and  ap- 
petite at  the  best;  filling  himself  to  the  utmost,  he  has  ample  time 
for  rumination  and  subsequent  digestion. 

603.  Getting  cattle  to  full  feed.— The  fattening  steer  should  be 
brought  to  full  feed  gradually,  the  time  required  in  reaching  that 
point  varying  from  one  to  two  months.     Steers  which  have  pre- 
viously been  fed  grain  take  to  it  readily,  while  those  which  have 
always  lived  on  roughage  and  pastures  must  bo  carefully  managed 
in  this  particular.     Young  cattle  are  more  difficult  to  bring  to 
full  feed  than  mature  ones.    By  supplying  an  abundance  of  rough- 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle.  393 

age  of  good  quality  there  is  less  danger  in  bringing  cattle  to  full 
feed. 

When  once  the  feeding  period  is  well  inaugurated,  all  sudden 
changes  in  attendants,  place  and  manner  of  feeding  as  well  as  of 
the  feed  itself  should  be  carefully  avoided.  Everything  should 
move  with  quiet,  clock -like  regularity.  The  cattle  come  to  know 
not  only  the  hour  but  almost  the  minute  of  the  feeder's  arrival 
and  watch  for  him.  On  his  coming  they  expect  the  same  sort  of 
feed  as  before  and  the  same  little  attentions.  All  of  this  means 
better  gains  than  are  possible  from  any  irregular  system.  If 
changes  in  feed  are  necessary,  as  they  sometimes  are, —  for  ex- 
ample, changirg  from  ear  corn  or  shelled  corn  to  corn  meal, —  the 
transition  should  be  gradual  rather  than  immediate  and  violent. 
Sometimes  stockmen  are  tempted  to  give  their  cattle  bits  of  un- 
usual food  in  expectation  of  stimulating  the  appetite  and  getting 
heavier  gains.  This  practice  is  often  worse  than  useless.  The 
gourmand  steer  is  content  with  uniformity  in  his  rations,  and  if 
not  led  to  anticipate  unusual  attentions  is  satisfied  with  a  limited 
bill  of  fare,  provided  always  the  supply  is  ample. 

604.  Close  attention  required. —  The  ability  to  fatten  cattle 
rapidly  and  profitably  is  a  gift,  to  be  increased  and  strengthened 
by  experience  and  study.  The  ability  to  carry  a  steer  through 
a  six  months'  fattening  period  without  once  getting  him  "  off  feed  " 
is  possessed  by  many  a  stockman;  but  how  this  faculty  is  attained 
is  something  he  cannot  always  impart  to  others.  In  general, 
when  the  steer  has  reached  full  feed,  aU  the  grain  he  will  readily 
consume  should  be  supplied,  but  any  left  in  the  feed  box,  to  be 
breathed  over,  is  worse  than  wasted. 

Scouring,  the  bane  of  the  stock  feeder,  should  be  carefully 
avoided,  since  a  single  day's  laxness  will  cut  off  a  week's  gain. 
This  trouble  is  generally  induced  by  over-feeding,  by  unwhole- 
some food,  or  by  a  faulty  combination  in  the  ration.  Over-feed- 
ing comes  from  a  desire  of  the  attendant  to  push  his  cattle  to 
better  gains,  or  from  carelessness  and  irregularity  in  measuring 
out  the  feed  supply.  The  ideal  stockman  has  a  quick  discern- 
ment which  takes  in  every  animal  in  the  lot  at  a  glance,  and  a 
quiet  judgment  which  guides  the  hand  in  dealing  out  feed  ample 


394  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

for  the  wants  of  all,  but  not  a  pound  excess.  Cattle  of  the  same 
age,  or  at  least  those  of  equal  size  and  strength,  should  be  fed  in 
the  same  enclosure.  Weak  animals,  and  those  unable  for  any  rea- 
son to  crowd  to  the  feed  trough  and  get  their  share,  should  be 
placed  where  they  can  be  supplied  in  quiet. 

605.  Other  points  to  be  observed. —  The  droppings  of  the  steer 
are  an  excellent  index  of  the  progress  of  fattening.     While  they 
should  never  be  hard,  they  should  still  be  thick  enough  to  "pile 
up  "  and  have  that  unctious  appearance  which  indicates  a  healthy 
action  of  the  liver.    There  is  an  odor  from  the  droppings  of  thrifty, 
well-fed  steers  known  and  quickly  recognized  by  every  good 
feeder.     Thin  droppings  and  those  with  a  sour  smell  indicate 
something  wrong  in  the  feed  yard. 

The  conduct  of  the  steer  is  a  further  guide  in  marking  the  prog- 
ress of  fattening.  The  manner  in  which  he  approaches  the  feed 
box;  his  quiet  pose  while  ruminating  and  audible  breathing  when 
lying  down,  showing  the  lungs  cramped  by  the  well-filled  paunch 5 
the  quiet  eye  which  stands  full  from  the  fattening  socket;  the 
oily  coat, —  all  are  points  that  awaken  the  interest,  admiration 
and  satisfaction  of  the  successful  feeder. 

606.  Preparing  steers  for  shipment. —  Clay1  writes:  "  A  day  or 
two  previous  to  shipping,  feed  the  cattle  in  a  pen,  and  feed  hay 
only.     The  secret  of  shipping  all  classes  of  cattle  is  to  place  them 
on  the  cars  full  of  food  but  with  as  little  moisture  as  possible.    A 
steer  full  of  water  is  apt  to  have  loose  bowels  and  show  up  badly 
in  the  yards;  properly  handled  cattle  should  arrive  in  the  sale 
pens  dry  behind  and  ready  for  a  good  fill  of  water;  not  very 
thirsty  but  in  good  condition  to  drink  freely.     Many  shippers 
think  that  by  salting  their  cattle  or  feeding  them  oats  they  can 
fool  the  buyers,  but  it  always  goes  against  them  to  use  unnatural 
amounts.     As  to  feed  on  the  road,  nothing  equals  good  sweet  hay, 
which  excels  corn  or  other  grains  because  it  is  easily  digested  and 
does  not  fever  the  animal.     Of  water  in  mid- summer,  care  must 
be  taken  to  supply  the  animal  wants,  whereas  in  winter  a  steer 
can  go  for  many  hours  without  a  drink.     Cattle  should  arrive  at 
the  sale  yards  at  from  5  to  8  A.  M.,  appearing  on  the  scene  as 

1  Live  Stock  Report,  Chicago,  Sept.  28,  1894. 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle. 


395 


near  the  latter  hour  as  possible,  since  they  always  look  better  just 
after  they  have  been  fed  and  watered." 

Funkhouser1  advises  feeding  all  the  hay  the  cattle  will  eat, 
and  reducing  the  grain  fed  at  least  one-half  two  or  three  days  be- 
fore shipping.  For  steers  in  transit  allow  250  pounds  of  hay  and 
one  and  one-half  bushels  of  grain  per  car.  Steers  on  pasture  that 
have  had  corn  should  be  taken  off  pasture  twenty-four  hours  be- 
fore shipping,  and  allowed  half  a  feed  of  corn  with  plenty  of  hay. 

II.  Rations  for  Fattening  Steers. 

607.  Theoretical  rations  for  fattening  steers. —  To  show  the 
amount  of  feed  a  steer  should  receive  according  to  the  Wolff- Leh- 
mann  standard,  two  rations  are  presented  which  are  reasonably 
close  to  the  requirements.  In  the  first,  corn  is  the  leading  con- 
centrate, with  oil  meal  additional  to  furnish  the  protein;  in  the 
second,  silage  furnishes  the  roughage,  with  bran,  corn  and  cob 
meal  and  cotton- seed  meal  for  the  concentrates.  See  Chapter 
VII,  Part  II. 

Rations  compounded  in  accordance  with  the  Wolff-Lehmann  feeding 
standard  for  steers  weighing  1,000  pounds,  first  period. 


Dry 
matter. 

Digestible  nutrients. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Ration  No.  1. 
Wolff-Lehmann  standard  

Lbs. 
30 

Lbs. 
2.50 

Lbs. 
15.00 

Lbs. 
.50 

Corn  fodder,  8  pounds 

4.62 
1.69 
12.52 
3.63 

.20 
.13 
1.09 
1.17 

2.77 
.72 
9.34 
1.31 

.03 
.03 
.60 
.28 

Clover  hay,  2  pounds 

Dent  corn,  14  pounds  

Oil  meal,  O.  P.,  4  pounds  

Total  

22.46 

2.59 

14.14 

.94 

Ration  No.  2. 
Corn  silage,  30  pounds  

6.27 
4.54 
8.81 
3.40 
1.84 

.27 
.06 
1.22 
.18 
.74 

3.39 
1.93 
3.92 
2.40 
.38 

.21 
.04 
.27 
.12 
.24 

Oat  straw,  5  pounds 

Roller  bran,  10  pounds.  ... 

Corn  and  cob  meal.  4  pounds  

Cotton-seed  meal,  2"  pounds  

Total  

24.86 

2.47 

12.02 

.88 

1  Breeder's  Gazette,  Chicago,  Jan.  18,  1893. 


396 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


In  both  rations  there  is  much  less  dry  matter  than  is  called  for 
by  the  standard.  This  departure  is  not  of  much  significance,  as 
the  ration  possesses  a  reasonable  volume.  The  carbohydrates  are 
less  than  called  for  by  the  standard,  but  this  is  nearly  made  good 
by  the  excess  of  ether  extract. 

These  rations  are  constructed  on  purely  theoretical  grounds, 
but  will  be  found  satisfactory  where  the  feeding-stuffs  called  for 
are  reasonable  in  price. 

608.  Rations  used  at  the  Experiment  Stations. —  In  the  feeding 
trials  at  various  Experiment  Stations  numerous  rations  have  been 
used,  a  few  of  which  are  here  presented,  care  being  taken  in 
their  selection  to  present  as  wide  a  range  of  feeding  materials  as 
possible. 

Ontario  Agricultural  College.  * 

Roots  and  corn.  Lbs. 


Roots  and  barley.  Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  steers  fed 1,061 

Dailygain 2.14 

Hay 12. 

Boots 46. 

Bran  5. 

Barley 11.25 

Iowa  Experiment  Station.* 

Corn  and  oil  meal.  Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  steers  fed 1,340 

Dailygain 2.8 

Snapped  corn 22.5 

Corn  meal 3.7 

Oil  meal 4.2 

Hay 5.7 


Av.  wt.  of  steers  fed 1,106 

Dailygain 2.31 


Hay.. 
Roots 
Bran 
Corn.. 


9.5 
34. 
3.5 
9.25 


Oregon  Experiment  Station. 3 

Wheat  and  silage.  Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  steers  fed 847 

Daily  gain 2. 

Chopped  wheat 10.3 

Clover  hay 8. 

Corn  silage 18. 


Kansas  Experiment  Station. 


1 '  Balanced ' '  ration.        Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  steers  fed 1,083 

Dailygain 2.4 


Corn  and  stover.  Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  steers  fed 1,211 

Dailygain 1.7 


Corn  meal.. 

Shorts 

Bran 

Oil  meal.... 
Tame  hay.. 


10. 
5. 
2. 
4. 
6.5 


Ear  corn. 
Stover... 


26.7 
5. 


Bept  1883.  2  Bui.  20.  *  Bui.  37.  *  Buls.  34  and  39. 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle.  397 

Texas  Experiment  Station.1 

Cotton-seed  meal  and  hulls.    Lbs.             Corn  and  cotton  seed.  Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  steers  fed 638         Av.  wt.  of  steers  fed 576 

Daily  gain 1.76    Daily  gain 1.9 


Cotton-seed  meal 5.        Corn 5.3 

Cotton-seed  hulls 7.2      Cottonseed 5.2 

Corn  silage 20.        Hay 5.3 

III.  Fattening  Range  Cattle. 

609.  Description  of  operations. —  About  the  year  1885  several 
companies  controlling  Western  ranges  undertook  the  experiment 
of  moving  cattle  to  points  in  the  corn  belt  for  fattening  while  in 
transit  to  the  stock  markets.  Two  results  were  sought, — a  higher 
finish,  and  relieving  an  overstocked  range.  Of  the  several  efforts 
in  this  direction,  that  of  the  Standard  Cattle  Co.,  with  ranches  in 
Wyoming  and  Montana,  and  a  feeding  establishment  at  Ames, 
Neb.,  is  the  best  example.  The  possessions  of  this  company  at 
Ames  include  a  number  of  farms  aggregating  several  thousand 
acres,  with  additional  rented  lands  lying  in  the  Platte  valley  pos- 
sessing a  rich,  black,  sandy  soil,  well  adapted  to  corn  growing. 

The  barn  of  this  company  is  682  feet  long  and  over  200  feet 
wide,  with  a  capacity  for  3,008  steers,  each  animal  occupying  a 
separate  stall  4x8  feet.  There  are  eight  double  rows  of  cattle  with 
heads  toward  each  other.  A  tramway  extends  between  each 
double  row  of  cattle,  down  which  a  car  travels  used  for  distribut- 
ing the  meal  and  hay,  which  are  placed  in  broad,  flat  feeding 
boxes,  the  sides  of  which  act  as  rails  for  the  car  wheels.  On  each 
side  of  the  feed  boxes  next  to  the  steers  is  a  narrow  trough  through 
which  fresh  water  for  drinking  continually  flows.  The  pumps 
which  lift  this  water  also  send  a  flood  down  the  ditch  behind  the 
steers,  into  which  passes  from  each  stall  the  voidings  of  the  animals, 
the  whole  wasting  into  the  Platte  river.  The  roof  of  this  monster 
barn  begins  low  at  the  sides  and  rises  by  steps  with  windows  in 
each  rise,  so  that  the  interior  is  well  lighted  and  easily  ventilated. 
A  mill  and  elevator  adjoining  is  connected  by  a  tramway.  The 
arrangements  permit  feeding  the  cattle  and  cleaning  the  stable 
with  the  minimum  of  labor.  Each  season,  in  addition  to  the 
1  Bui.  27. 


398  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

cattle  in  the  stable,  several  thousand  are  fed  in  bunches  of  a 
few  hundred  each  on  the  outlying  farms  of  the  company.  These 
steers  are  fed  grain  in  open  boxes,  supplied  once  or  twice  a  day, 
and  hay  from  long  racks  filled  whenever  occasion  requires. 

This  mammoth  business  has  from  its  inception  been  under  the 
care  of  Mr.  E.  M.  Allen,  General  Manager  of  the  Company,  who 
gives  personal  supervision  to  the  work  in  all  departments.  From 
a  careful  examination  of  the  feeding  operations  as  conducted  at 
the  stable  and  the  several  outdoor  quarters  in  1890,  at  which 
time  over  7,000  cattle  were  receiving  grain,  the  writer  believes 
the  experiment  of  wholesale  range  cattle  feeding  at  Ames  has  as 
fair  a  trial  as  can  possibly  be  given. 

Fortunately  for  the  student,  Mr.  Allen  has  kept  complete  records 
of  all  feeding  operations  from  the  beginning.  The  results  are 
an  accumulation  of  data  bearing  on  the  question  of  the  whole- 
sale feeding  of  range  cattle,  which  because  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  operations,  the  many  years  covered  by  them,  and  the  unusual 
care  and  accuracy  with  which  the  records  have  been  kept,  have 
become  invaluable  to  the  student  of  animal  husbandry,  as  well  as 
of  keen  interest  to  many  who  have  to  deal  with  the  problem  of 
cattle-feeding  at  the  West. 

610.  The  data  obtained. —  The  tables  here  presented  give  the 
most  important  data  of  the  operations  at  Ames  down  to  the 
present,  covering  eleven  years'  operations,  during  which  time 
49, 648  cattle  have  been  fed.  These  cattle  were  mostly  steers  from 
Wyoming  and  Montana  ranges  with  some  Texans  and  spayed 
heifers.  The  cattle  were  four  and  five  years  old  when  fed.  They 
were  wild  when  brought  to  the  feeding  station,  and  were  unused 
to  feed  and  confinement.  These  conditions  combined  to  make 
the  preliminary  feeding  period  a  long  one,  and  the  quantity  of 
feed  required  for  a  given  gain  large.  Notwithstanding  this  the 
operation  as  a  whole  is  thoroughly  representative  of  its  class,  and 
furnishes  an  important  and  instructive  lesson. l 


1  The  data  presented  were  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Allen.  A  more  ex- 
tended account  of  the  operations  is  given  by  Coburn  in  the  Quarterly 
Report  of  the  Kansas  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  December,  1897. 


Feed  and  Management  of  Fattening  Cattle.  399 

Number  of  cattle  marketed  and  gains  —  Standard  Cattle  Co.,  Allen. 


Year. 

Number 
of  cattle 
marketed 

Number 
of  days 
fed. 

Av.  wt. 
of  cattle 
when 
received. 

Av.  wt. 

of  cattle 
at 
market. 

Av. 

gain. 

Shrink- 
age per 
head. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1886-87... 

5,417 

151 

959 

1,097 

138 

13.2 

1887-88... 

5,586 

202 

989 

1,235 

246 

62.3 

1888-89... 

4,269 

180 

1,036 

1,298 

262 

24.9 

1889-90... 

6,033 

197 

870 

1,119 

249 

22.8 

1890-91... 

7,298 

222 

,032 

1,272 

240 

35.9 

1891-92... 

2,176 

252 

,116 

1,399 

283 

71.6 

1892-93... 

1,222 

126 

955 

1,175 

220 

59.2 

1893-94... 

2,539 

182 

,053 

1,281 

228 

54.3 

1894r-95... 

5,878 

152 

,073 

1,290 

217 

42.8 

1895-96... 

3,775 

171 

,154 

1,392 

238 

46.6 

1896-97... 

5,454 

215 

1,066 

1,304 

238 

41.8 

Amount  of  grain  and  hay  fed  to  cattle  reported  in  previous  table. 


Year. 

Corn. 

Oats. 

Bran. 

Oil  meal. 

Hay. 

Stover. 

1886-87 

Lbs. 

9  693  702 

Lbs. 
354  968 

Lbs. 
1  453  176 

Lbs. 
1  143  000 

Tons. 
5  050 

Tons. 

1887-88  

17,060.838 

767,179 

624,885 

665,752 

7,817 

1888-89  

10.421,864 

416  442 

428  530 

706  966 

4,682 

1889-90 

21  064  820 

1  439  196 

2  451  255 

390  856 

3  340 

1890-91 

19  389  664 

22  528 

1  208  010 

3  717  890 

7  805 

1891-92  

9  987  798 

53'  152 

'     6  132 

'270  '690 

4,392 

1892-93     ... 

2  192  680 

10  470 

151  480 

1  101 

1893  94 

6  740  328 

241  895 

481  320 

2  042 

1894-95  

9  388  121 

f      61,790  \ 

2  022  140 

2  517  532 

3  546 

1,433 

1895-96 

8  728  384 

1  1,443,606*) 
1  849  536 

1  121  090 

798  040 

1  451 

2  864 

1896-97  

21  288  792 

(   '  34|208  ) 
J     194  688f  y 

718  000 

228  000 

4  087 

5  938 

I      15,250tj 

*  Wheat.          f  Barley.          \  Peas. 

Daily  feed  consumed  and  daily  gains. 


Year. 

No.  of 
cattle  fed. 

No.  of 
days  fed. 

'Grain  per 
head  per 
day. 

Hay  per 
head  per 
day. 

Stover  per 
head  per 
day. 

Av.  gain 
of  cattle 
per  day. 

1886-S7  

5,532 

151 

Lbs. 
15.1 

•Lbs. 
12.1 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
9 

1887-88  

5,717 

202 

16  5 

13  5 

2 

1888-89  

4,355 

180 

15.3 

11.9 

.4 

1889-90  

7,090 

197 

18 

4.8 

3 

1890-91  

7,376 

222 

15 

9  5 

1 

1891-92         

2  198 

252 

19 

15  9 

1 

1892-93  

1,269 

126 

14.7 

13.7 

7 

1893-94  

2,609 

182 

15.7 

8  6 

3 

1894-95  

5  925 

152 

17 

7  8 

3  1 

4 

1895-96 

3  827 

171 

19 

4  5 

8  7 

4 

1896-97  

5,495 

215 

19 

6  9 

10 

.1 

400 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Cost  for  food  and  labor  of  feeding  cattle,  seasons  of  1891^-95,  1895-96 
and  1896-97 — Standard  Cattle  Co.,  Allen. 


1894-95. 

1895-96. 

1896-97. 

Amount 
per  head. 

Cost  per 
head. 

Amount 
per  head. 

Cost  per 
head. 

Amount 
per  head. 

Cost  per 
head. 

Corn 

Bu. 

28.3 
.3 

$12  13 
09 
2  44 

4  27 
2  13 

Bu. 

40.7 
8.6 
5.2 
3.7 

$7  19 
2  17 
1  59 
1  67 

Bu. 

69.1 
.2 
2.3 
.7 

$8  55 
03 
46 
37 

Oats           

Bran      

6.1 
7.6 
4.1 

Oil  cake  

Wheat  

Peas  

04 
17 

78 
1  55 
71 
10 
04 

Barley  

.7 
Tons. 
.7 
1.1 

Hay     

Tons. 
.6 

3  61 

Tons. 
.4 

63 

Stover   

Forage  beets  

12 

03 
03 

1  24 
07 
02 

Silage.... 

Salt 

Total  grain 

Bu. 

46.4 
Tons. 
.6 

1  24  85 

1  71 
24 

Bu. 

58.2 
Tons. 
.4 

il4  58 

2  55 
16 

Bu. 

74.8 
Tons. 
1.8 

1  12  80 

1  67 
35 
02 

Total     hay    and 
stover  

Labor  

Coal  and  gasoline 
Oil  .  

Insurance  

21 
33 

Horse  forage  

45 

23 

Total  labor 

2  49 

3  16 

2  27 

Total  food  and 
labor.  

27  34 

17  74 

15  07 

Av.  No.  days  fed. 

152 

171 

215 

Av.  gain  per  head 

in  pounds  

217 

238 

238 

Cost  of  100  pounds 
grain..  .. 

$12  60 

$7  45 

$6  33 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE  DAIEY  COW  —  SCIENTIFIC  FINDINGS. 

611.  Period  of  gestation. — "  The  average  period  of  gestation  for 
the  cow  is  284  days;  small  cows,  heifers  with  their  first  calf,  and 
old  animals,  usually  go  a  day  or  two  less;  bulls  are  carried  a  day 
or  two  longer  than  cow- calves.77 1 

612.  Economy  of  the  dairy  cow. —  Not  only  is  dairying  the  lead- 
ing animal  industry  of  our  country  at  this  time,  but  so  it  must 
continue  indefinitely,  for  the  reason  that  the  cow  is  a  more  econom- 
ical producer  of  food  for  human  beings  than  is  the  ox  or  the  pig. 
This  is  ably  shown  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert2  in  the  following  table: 

Comparison  of  the  constituents  of  food  earthed  off  in  milk  and  in  the 
fattening  increase  of  the  ox  —  Lawes  and  Gilbert. 


(1  Imperial  gallon  =  4  quarts  =  10.33  Ibs.) 

Nitrog- 
enous 
sub- 
stance. 

Fat. 

Non-nitro- 
genous 
substances 
not  fat 
(sugar). 

Mineral 
matter. 

Total 
solid 
matter. 

In  milk  per  week— Cow. 


If  4  quarts  per  head,  per  day  
If  6  quarts  per  head,  per  day  

If  8  quarts  per  head  per  day 

Lbs. 

2.64 
3.96 
5  28 

Lbs. 

2.53 
3.80 
5  06 

Lbs. 

8.33 
4.99 
6  66 

Lbs. 

.54 

.81 
1  08 

Lbs. 

9.04 
13.56 
18  08 

If  10  quarts  per  head,  per  day  
If  12  quarts  per  head,  per  day  
If  14  quarts  per  head  per  day 

6.60 
7.92 
9  24 

6.33 
7.59 
8  86 

8.32 
9.99 
11  65 

1.35 
1.62 
1  89 

22.60 
27.12 
31  64 

If  16  quarts  per  head,  per  day  
If  18  quarts  per  head,  per  day  
If  20  quarts  per  head,  per  day 

10.56 
11.88 
13  20 

10.12 
11.39 
12  65 

13.32 
14.98 
16  65 

2.16 
2.43 
2  70 

36.16 
40.68 
45  20 

In  increase  in  live  weight  per  week  — Ox. 


If  10  pounds  increase  

75 

6  35 

15 

7  25 

If  15  pounds  increase 

1  13 

9  53 

22 

10  88 

"We  are  shown  by  the  table  that  the  fattening  steer,  gaining 
15  pounds  weekly,  yields  1.13  pounds  of  nitrogenous  substance  or 


1  Sheldon,  Dairy  Fanning. 
26 


2  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1895. 


402  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

water-free  lean  meat,  while  the  dairy  cow  during  the  same  period, 
when  yielding  10  quarts  of  milk  daily,  returns  in  this  milk  6.6 
pounds  of  nitrogenous  substance,  casein  and  albumen,  or  six  times 
as  much.  Of  mineral  matter  the  ox  stores  during  the  week  .22 
pounds,  while  the  dairy  cow  secretes  in  her  milk  1.35  pounds,  or 
again,  about  six  times  as  much.  The  steer  adds  to  his  carcass 
9.53  pounds  of  fat,  while  in  the  milk  of  the  cow  there  are  6.33 
pounds  of  fat,  or  two-thirds  as  much.  During  this  time,  how- 
ever, the  cow  has  secreted  in  her  milk  8.32  pounds  of  milk  sugar, 
against  which  there  is  no  comparable  substance  in  the  flesh  of  the 
ox.  Eeducing  this  sugar  to  its  fat  equivalent,  (60)  the  cow  is 
shown  to  have  yielded  as  much  fat  or  fat  equivalent  as  has  the 
steer.  Commenting  on  this  table,  Lawes  and  Gilbert  write:1 

"Thus,  as  compared  with  fattening  increase,  which  may,  in  a 
sense,  be  said  to  be  little  more  than  an  accumulation  of  reserve 
material  from  excess  of  food,  milk  is  a  special  product  of  a  special 
gland  for  a  special  normal  exigency  of  the  animal." 

Thome,  of  the  Ohio  Station,2  comparing  the  returns  from 
steers  and  dairy  cows,  concludes  that  the  steer  gains  three  pounds 
in  live  weight  when  consuming  the  same  quantity  of  feed  as  the 
cow  when  producing  one  pound  of  butter-fat. 

In  this  country,  where  stock  foods  are  still  so  abundant  and 
population  sparse,  we  use  the  flesh  of  animals  freely,  even  waste- 
fully.  "When  population  grows  dense,  the  ox  will  be  the  first  to 
disappear  from  our  agriculture  because  it  is  not  an  economical 
producer  of  human  food,  while  the  dairy  cow  will  remain  an 
economical  instrument  for  that  purpose.  (695) 

613.  Yield  of  products. —  A  good  dairy  cow  will  yield  in  one 
year  6,600  pounds  of  milk,  in  which  there  are: 

285  pounds  of  fat. 
376  pounds  of  milk  sugar. 
220  pounds  of  casein  and  albumen. 
49  pounds  of  ash. 

Total,  930  pounds  of  solids. 
These  substances  are  practically  all  digestible. 


1  Loc.  cit.  2  Kept.  1893. 


The  Dairy  Cow  — Scientific  Findings.  403 

6(4.  Ratio  of  milk  yield  to  body  weight. —  Kraemer1  states  that 
cows  yield  during  the  year  from  four  to  eight  times  their  body 
weight  in  milk,  and  that  each  pound  of  dry  matter  fed  will  return 
from  four-  to  eight-tenths  of  a  pound  of  milk,  these  returns  being 
gauged  by  the  character  of  the  cow,  as  follows: 

Character  Yield  of  milk      Milk  per  pound  dry 

of  cow.  in  body  weight.  matter  in  feed. 

Poor 4  times.  .4  pounds. 

Medium 5  times.  .5  pounds. 

Good 6  times.  .6  pounds. 

Very  good 7  tunes.  .7  pounds. 

Excellent 8  tunes.  .8  pounds. 

615.  Percentage  fat  in  successive  portions  of  milk. —  At  the  New 

York  (Geneva)  Station, 2  Collier  examined  the  milk  from  5  cows 
as  drawn,  pint  by  pint,  and  found  the  fat  in  the  successive  lots  as 
follows:  .85,  1.43,  1.68,  2.02,  2.23,  2.65,  3.27,  3.74,  4.05,  4.86, 
4.48,  4.30,  5.23,  while  the  average  of  the  whole  milk  was  3.21. 
The  average  per  cent,  of  fat  in  the  first  and  last  pints  was  .85  and 
5.23,  an  increase  of  nearly  500  per  cent.  The  average  per  cent, 
of  fat  in  the  first  and  last  halves  of  the  milk  was  1.92  and  4.35,  an 
increase  of  127  per  cent. 

The  above  shows  the  poverty  in  fat  of  the  first  milk  drawn 
from  the  cow  and  the  richness  of  that  last  drawn.  It  shows  that 
those  who  allow  calves  to  have  the  first  milk  from  the  cow  and 
reserve  the  strippings  withhold  the  richest  milk. 

616.  Concerning  fat  globules. —  Collier3  places  the  average  se- 
cretion of  milk  by  the  cow  at .  7  of  a  pound  or  19. 6  cubic  inches 
per  hour.     One  ten-thousandth  of  a  cubic  millimeter  of  milk  was 
found  to  contain  on  an  average  152  fat  globules.   (828)     From 
these  data  he  concludes  that  the  average  cow  in  the  Geneva  Station 
herd  secreted  138,210,000  fat  globules  each  second.     According 
to  Babcock4  the  number  of  fat  globules  in  a  quart  of  milk  of 
average  composition  is  not  less  than  2,000,000,000,000.     These 
figures  are  beyond  comprehension,  and  should  increase  our  in- 
terest in  the  marvelous  processes  of  animal  life.     Appreciating 

1  Die  Schule  der  Schweizer-kasers. 

2  Kept.  1891. 

3  Kept.  New  York  (Geneva)  Sta.,  1892. 
«  Bui.  18,  Wis.  Expt.  Sta. 


404 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


these  facts  the  thoughtful  dairyman  will  not  regard  the  dairy  cow 
an  idler. 

617.  Relation  of  live  weight  to  yield. —  The  relation  of  live 
weight  to  yield  of  milk  and  fat  by  cows  is  illustrated  in  the  fol- 
lowing table  by  Woll, 1  which  gives  a  summary  of  the  results  of 
Breed  Test  !No.  1,  conducted  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion, Chicago,  1893,  the  data  given  being  the  average  and  total 
figures  for  seventy -five  animals.  (See  Chapter  XXVII,  Part  I. ) 
The  cows  are  grouped  according  to  their  live  weight  into  three 
sets,  the  first  including  the  lightest  animals,  the  second  represent- 
ing the  medium,  and  the  third  the  heavy  cows.  The  scale  of  prices 
for  feeds  is  of  course  arbitrary,  but  being  the  same  for  all  ani- 
mals it  serves  the  desired  purpose. 

Relation  of  average  live  weight  of  cows  to  yield  of  milk  and  fat  — 
Columbian  Dairy  Test  No.  1,  fifteen  days  —  Woll. 


Breed. 

Live 
wt. 

Yield  of  — 

Yield  per  1.000 
Ibs.  live  weight. 

Cost 
of 
food. 

Cost  of 
producing 
100  Ibs. 
of  fat. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Light  cows. 
Jersey  

Lbs. 

846 
839 

988 

Lbs. 

510.1 
422.0 
434.3 

Lbs. 

22.91 
18.49 
15.86 

Lbs. 

603.0 
502.9 
439.5 

Lbs. 

27.08 
22.04 
16.05 

$377 
3  00 
350 

$1645 
16  23 
2206 

Guernsey 

Short-horn..  

Average 

891 

455.5 

19.09 

511.2 

21.42 

$3  42 

$17  93 

Medium  cows. 
Jersey 

923 
923 

1,127 

532.1 
417.8 
510.0 

24.74 
18.97 
18.47 

576.5 
452.6 
452.7 

26.80 
20.55 
16.40 

$3  98 
307 
4  02 

$1609 
16  14 
21  74 

Guernsey  

Short-horn               

Average  

991 

486.6 

20.73 

490.9 

20.91 

$3  69 

$1779 

Heavy  cows. 
Jersey  

999 
1,001 
1,302 

557.3 
475.0 
524.7 

24.74 
21.40 

18.22 

557.8 
474.5 
403.1 

24.77 
21.38 
14.00 

$404 
3  08 
4  09 

$1633 
14  40 

2245 

Guernsey 

Short-horn  

Averasre 

1,101 

519.0 

21.45 

471.4 

19.48 

$374 

$17  42 

The  different  groups  include  the  same  number  of  cows  of  each 
breed,  so  that  the  influence  of  breed  is  practically  eliminated. 
The  results  show  that  the  lightest  cows  produced  less  milk  and  fat 
than  the  other  two  groups,  the  cost  of  feed  also  being  less.  The 
yield  of  milk  and  fat  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight  was  great- 
est with  the  light  cows  and  least  with  the  heaviest  cows.  Calcu- 

1  Hoard's  Dairyman,  March  30,  June  22,  1894. 


The  Dairy  Cow  —  Scientific  Findings.  405 

lating  the  cost  of  100  pounds  of  fat,  the  results  favor  the  heaviest 
cows,  though  the  difference  is  small. 

618.  Large  versus  small  cows. —  Brandl1  conducted  three  ex- 
periments with  light  and  heavy  dairy  cows,  each  lasting  four 
weeks,  the  second  commencing  seventy  days  after  the  close  of  the 
first,  and  the  third  a  year  after  the  beginning  of  the  first.    Thirty 
of  the  heaviest  milkers  in  the  herd  were  separated  into  two  lots 
of  fifteen  cows  each,  according  to  live  weight.     The  cows  were 
kept  under  similar  conditions  as  to  feed  and  care  during  the  trial, 
none  being  bred  after  the  beginning  of  the  experiment.     The 
average  weight  of  the  heavy  cows  was  1,205  pounds  and  of  the 
light  cows  979  pounds.     The  leading  conclusions  from  the  experi- 
ments are: 

1.  The  milk  of  the  small  cows  is  richer  in  fat  than  that  of  the 
large  ones. 

2.  Large  cows  eat  a  greater  amount  of  feed  than  small  cowsj  per 
thousand  pounds  live  weight  they  eat  less. 

3.  Small  cows  produce  less  milk  than  large  cows,  absolutely 
and  relatively. 

4.  When  in  thin  flesh  small  cows  may  produce  more  per  thou- 
sand pounds  live  weight  than  large  cows. 

5.  Large  farrow  cows  are  more  persistent  milkers;  on  the  other 
hand,  small  cows  show  a  greater  tendency  to  fatten  on  the  same 
feed,  with  a  decrease  in  milk  flow. 

6.  The  loss  in  selling  ten  of  the  large  cows  amounted  to  five 
guilden  per  head  on  the  average,  after  having  been  kept  nearly 
a  year,  while  the  loss  for  ten  small  cows  was  twelve  guilden  per 
head. 

619.  Dairy  compared  with  beef  type. —  At  the  Minnesota  Sta- 
tion2 Haecker  conducted  a  trial  which  shows  in  a  marked  way  the 
difference  between  cows  of  the  so-called  dairy  type  and  the  blocky 
beef  cow.     The  Station  herd  was  separated  into  four  lots,  Group  I 
including  those  of  the  beef  type,  Group  II  showing  less  tendency 
to  the  beef  type,  Group  III  embracing  spare  cows  lacking  in 
depth,  and  Group  IV  spare  cows  with  deep  bodies,  representing 
the  dairy  type. 

1  Jahresber.  u.  Agr.  Chemie.,  1894,  474.  2  Bui.  35. 


406 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  results  of  this  interesting  trial  are  shown  in  the  following 
table: 

Beef  and  dairy  type  cows  compared  —  Minnesota  Station. 


Group. 

No.  of 
ani- 
mals. 

Av.  live 
weight. 

Dry 

matter 
eaten 
per  day. 

Dry 
matter 
per  1,000 
Ibs.  of 
live  wt. 

Dry 

matter 
per  Ib. 
of  fat. 

Cost  of 
one  Ib. 
of  fat. 

I.  Beef  type  

3 

Lbs. 
1  240 

Lbs. 
20  81 

Lbs. 
16  66 

Lbs. 
31.25 

Cents. 
17  5 

II.  Less  of  beef  type... 
III.  Lacking  depth  of 
body  

4 
3 

945 

875 

20.37 
19  95 

21.02 
23  00 

26.42 
25  54 

15.1 
14  6 

IV.  Dairy  tvt>e  ... 

12 

951 

21.86 

23.58 

21.15 

12.1 

Discussing  the  results,  Haecker  writes:  "The  productive 
capacity  of  the  cow  depends  more  upon  type  and  conformation 
than  upon  size  or  breed.  Those  of  the  beef  type  produced  fat  at 
a  cost  of  seventeen  and  a  half  cents  per  pound;  those  carrying  a 
medium  amount  of  flesh  produced  fat  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  and  one- 
tenth  cents  per  pound;  the  spare  cows  lacking  in  depth  of  body 
produced  fat  at  a  cost  of  fourteen  and  six-tenths  cents  per  pound, 
and  the  spare  cows  having  deep  bodies  produced  fat  at  a  cost  of 
twelve  and  one-tenth  cents  per  pound.'7 

620.  Effect  of  age  of  cow  on  productivity  of  feed. —  Studying 
the  Ohio  Station  herd,  Thorne1  reports  on  the  influence  of  age 
as  follows: 

Effect  of  age  of  cow  on  returns  for  feed  given  —  Ohio  Station. 


Age. 

No.  of 
cows. 

Days  since 
calving. 

Fat  per  100 
Ibs.  dry 
matter. 

Live  weight. 

Gain. 

Loss. 

3  and  4  years... 
5  years 

7 
7 
10 
6 
4 
5 
6    . 
2 

127 
260 
135 
157 
115 
172 
105 
133 

Lbs. 

2.95 
2.99 
3.45 
3.62 
3.14 
3.05 
3.22 
2.75 

Lbs. 

33 
23 
29 

Lbs. 

6  years 

7  years 

11 

8  years. 

28 

9  years  

12 
9 
15 

10  years  

11  and  13  years.. 

Kept.  Ohio  Sta.,  1893. 


TJie  Dairy  Cow  —  Scientific  Findings. 


407 


We  learn  that  from  her  first  calf  up  to  and  including  the 
seventh  year,  the  cow  gives  gradually  increasing  returns  for  a 
given  quantity  of  feed;  after  the  seventh  year  they  gradually 
diminish  until  the  eleventh  to  the  thirteenth  year,  when  the 
returns  from  feed  are  less  than  with  the  heifer.  There  is  an  in- 
crease in  weight  during  the  first  years,  followed  in  later  years 
by  some  loss  in  weight.  This  table  is  in  harmony  with  the  ex- 
perience of  dairymen  as  to  the  most  profitable  years  in  the  life 
of  the  cow. 

621.  Advance  in  lactation  and  productivity  of  feed. —  Thorne1 
also  studied  the  feed  consumption  and  fat  returns  of  thirty-one 
cows  used  in  tests  at  the  Ohio  and  Wisconsin  Stations,  and  deduced 
the  table  given  below  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  returns  from 
the  cow  as  the  lactation  period  advances: 

Returns  for  feed  consumed  as  time  since  calving  increases  —  Ohio 
and  Wisconsin  Stations. 


Distance  from  calving. 

No. 
of 
cows. 

Fat  per 
100  Ibs. 
dry 
matter. 

Live  weight. 

Gain. 

Loss. 

Less  than  60  days*  average  39  days 

3 
9 
13 
6 

Lbs. 

4.16 
3.32 
3.05 
2.90 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
.04 

From  60  to  120  days;  average  91  days  
From  120  to  180  days;  average  142  days  .. 
More  than  180  days;  average  256  days  

.11 

.27 
.34 

We  learn  that  shortly  after  calving  the  cow  is  at  her  best  in 
the  fat  she  returns  for  feed  consumed,  and  that  during  this  period 
there  is  usually  a  loss  in  body  weight.  As  time  since  calving 
increases  the  return  of  fat  for  feed  consumed  is  reduced,  the 
cow,  when  well  nurtured,  increasing  somewhat  in  weight.  Dur- 
ing the  last  stages  of  lactation  the  cow  returns  only  about  three- 
fourths  as  much  fat  for  feed  consumed  as  shortly  after  calving. 

622.  Influence  of  time  from  calving  on  milk  flow. —  Sturtevant, 2 
studying  the  diminution  in  milk  flow  of  cows  from  month  to 
month  after  calving,  reached  the  conclusion  that  this  decrease 

1  Loc.  cit. 

*  Eept.  New  York  (Geneva)  Sta.,  1886. 


408 


Feedx  and  Feeding. 


may  be  placed  at  about  nine  per  cent,  of  the  yield  for  the  preced- 
ing month.  The  actual  average  yield  of  a  herd  and  the  theoret- 
ical yield,  according  to  this  factor,  appear  in  the  following 
table: 

Monthly  decrease  in  milk  flow  of  dairy  cows,  actual  and  theoretical  — 

Sturtevant. 


For  whole  herd. 

For  cows  that  went 
dry  between  8th  and 
12th  month. 

Actual 
daily  milk 
yield. 

Theoretical 
daily  milk 
yield. 

Actual 
daily  milk 
yield. 

Theoretical 
daily  milk 
yield. 

1st  month.         

Lbs. 

25.7 
24.4 
22.0 
19.9 
17.3 
16.5 
14.9 
13.4 
12.3 
11.1 

Lbs. 

25.7 
23.4 
21.3 
19.4 
17.7 
16.1 
14.7 
13.4 
12.2 
11.1 

Lbs. 

26.9 
25.2 
22.8 
20.6 
18.7 
17.0 
15.0 
12.7 
11.6 
10.4 

Lbs. 

26.9 
24.5 
22.3 
21.3 
18.5 
16.9 
15.4 
14.0 
12.8 
11.6 

2d  month  

3d  month  

4th  month  

5th  month  

6th  month  

7th  month 

8th  month. 

9th  month  

10th  month  . 

In  the  table  given  above,  the  theoretical  yield  for  each  month 
was  obtained  by  subtracting  nine  per  cent,  of  the  yield  for  the 
previous  month  from  the  yield  for  that  month.  We  observe  that 
the  actual  yield  agrees  closely  with  the  theoretical  in  showing  the 
possible  yield  of  milk  by  the  cow  in  any  given  month. 

623.  Heavy  feeders  may  be  the  most  profitable. —  At  the  Penn- 
sylvania Station, l  Waters  and  Hess,  studying  the  returns  from 
nine  cows  in  the  Station  herd  during  a  trial  lasting  150  days,  se- 
cured important  data  relative  to  the  food  consumed  and  the  yield 
of  butter.  Cows  which  had  been  tested  the  previous  year  were 
used  in  this  trial.  Some  of  these  had  excellent  butter  records, 
while  others  were  of  average  or  low  productive  power.  All  were 
fed  liberally  according  to  their  capacity  for  consuming  food. 
Records  were  kept  of  consumption  and  production. 

In  a  table  prepared  by  these  investigators  are  summarized  the 
butter  yielded  by  each  cow  the  preceding  season,  the  cost  of  the 

1  Bept.  1895. 


The  Dairy  Cow  —  Scientific  Findings. 


409 


feed  eaten  during  the  test  and  the  net  profit  per  cow  daily.    These 
results  are  shown  below: 

Net  profits  of  individual  dairy  cows  — Pennsylvania  Station, 


Cow. 

Yield  of 
butter 
previous 
year. 

Yield  of 
butter 
during  ex- 
periment. 

Digestible 
material 
consumed 
daily. 

Average 
daily  cost 
of  feed. 

Average 
daily  net 
profit. 

No.  1... 

Lbs. 
365 

Lbs. 
211 

Lbs. 
15.8 

Cents. 
18 

Cents. 
25 

No.  2  

345 

182 

15.3 

18 

22 

No.  3 

365 

164 

14  1 

17 

17 

No.  4 

322 

156 

15  0 

17 

14 

No.  5  .  ..  

318 

152 

14.5 

17 

14 

No.  6  

340 

135 

13.3 

15 

12 

No.  7  

276 

127 

14.5 

17 

9 

No.  8 

231 

117 

13  7 

16 

8 

No.  9    .. 

ns 

90 

13.7 

16 

3 

We  observe  that,  as  a  rule,  the  cows  which  ate  the  most  gave 
the  largest  net  returns;  the  smallest  eaters  gave  the  least. 

624.  Another  illustration. —  Armsby1  presents  an  interesting 
study  of  the  cows  used  in  the  ninety -day  test  at  the  Columbian 
Exposition,  1893.  (Chapter  XXVII,  Part  I. )  These  cows  were 
arranged  in  eleven  groups,  irrespective  of  breed,  according  to  the 
amount  of  total  solids  produced  during  ninety  days. 

Showing  of  the  ninety-day  butter  test,  Columbian  Exposition — Armsby. 


Average  total  yield  of  — 

Cost  of 
feed. 

Net 
profits.* 

Feed  cost  per  Ib. 

Solids. 

Fat. 

Solids. 

Fat 

«s  cows 

Lbs. 

478.13 
446.24 
427.90 
400.60 
375.83 
346.70 
329.99 
315.09 
301.63 
278.94 
253.34 

Lbs. 

154.11 
140.78 
139.84 
126.41 
125.68 
107.53 
101.91 
99.07 
98.23 
90.00 
79.29 

$24  84 
22  78 
22  97 
20  95 
21  59 
20  55 
20  75 
19  36 
18  91 
19  18 
19  S5 

$5741 
52  30 
51  66 
4601 
45  18 
35  87 
33  36 
33  23 
32  79 
28  34 
21  98 

Cents. 

5.19 
5.11 
5.37 
5.23 
5.77 
5.93 
6.29 
6.14 
6.27 
6.87 
7.84 

Cente. 

16.11 
16.18 
16.  43 
16.58 
17.17 
19.11 
20.36 
19.54 
19.25 
21.31 
25.04 

(>  COWS  

H  COWS  

(>  cows  

8  cows 

8  cows. 

7  cows  

f)  COWS  

7  cows 

6  cows 

4  cows  

*  Computed  as  in  test,  except  live  weight  not  included. 


1  Jersey  Bulletin,  Dec.  23,  1896. 


410  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  table  shows  that  the  cows  yielding  the  largest  amount  of 
solids  and  fat  consumed  the  most  feed;  further,  and  what  is  of 
the  most  importance,  they  gave  the  largest  net  profit.  The  cows 
giving  the  smallest  yield  cost  20  per  cent,  less  to  feed,  but  the 
net  profits  from  them  were  60  per  cent,  less  than  from  the  heavy 
feeders.  It  does  not  follow  that  every  large  feeder  in  a  dairy 
herd  is  an  economical  cow;  the  wise  dairyman  will  not  judge 
his  cows  by  the  amount  of  feed,  but  rather  by  the  milk  yield  and 
fat  test,  taking  cognizance,  in  the  second  place,  of  the  feed  con- 
sumed. 

625.  Amount  of  water  drank. —  In  feeding  experiments  at  the 
Copenhagen  Station1  the  water  drank  by  seventy-six  cows  on  two 

estates  was  as  follows: 

Av.  water  drank 
per  day. 

Ordinary  ration 97.9  pounds. 

Same,  2  Ibs.  grain  replaced  by  20  Ibs.  roots 81.4  pounds. 

Same,  4  Ibs.  grain  replaced  by  40  Ibs.  roots 61.6  pounds. 

Same,  plus  40  Ibs.  roots 74. 8  pounds. 

At  the  Pennsylvania  Station, 2  Armsby  found  that  cows  averag- 
ing 773  pounds  in  weight,  confined  to  stalls  in  summer  where  ait 
average  temperature  of  70°  Fahr.  prevailed,  and  living  on  fresh 
grass,  drank  61  pounds  of  water  per  head  per  day,  while  cows  aver- 
aging 735  pounds,  confined  in  stalls  where  a  temperature  of  73° 
prevailed,  drank  107  pounds  when  fed  on  dry  grass. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station3  the  same  investigator  found  that 
more  water  was  drank  with  narrow  rations  than  with  wide  ones. 
Thus,  with  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 : 5.5,  there  were  4.33  pounds  of 
water  drank  for  each  pound  of  dry  matter,  while  with  a  ratio  of 
1  :  8.6  only  2.41  pounds  were  drank. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  cows  require  about  four  pounds  of 
water  for  each  pound  of  dry  matter  in  the  feed  consumed. 

Sturtevant,  of  the  New  York  (Geneva)  Station,4  writes:  "A 
water  supply  should  be.  sufficient  to  furnish  an  average  of  eight 
gallons  daily  per  head  for  the  cows  kept,  in  order  to  be  assured 
of  a  full  supply." 

626.  Relation  of  water  drank  or  in  food  to  milk  yield. —  Collier, 
reporting  findings  in  this  matter  at  the  Geneva  Station,5  writes: 

1  Kept  1890,  p.  8.        2  Rept.  1888.        8  Kept.  1886.        4  Kept.  1886. 
8  Proc.  of  "New  York  Farmers,"  1892-93. 


The  Dairy  Cow  —  Scientific  Findings.  411 

11  We  have  found  that  our  cows  which  averaged  898  pounds  in 
weight  drank  each  month  1, 660  pounds  of  water,  and  their  food 
contained  in  addition  775  pounds,  or  a  total  of  2,435  pounds  of 
water  for  a  milk  yield  of  529  pounds,  an  average  of  4. 6  pounds 
of  water  for  one  pound  of  milk.  These  same  cows  while  dry 
drank  each  month  1,054  pounds  of  water,  and  there  were  532 
pounds  in  their  food,  an  aggregate  of  1,586  pounds,  or  65.1  per 
cent,  of  the  amount  they  had  during  lactation.'7 

627.  Warm   versus   cold   water. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station, l 
King  conducted  two  trials  where  water  warmed  to  a  temperature 
of  70°  Fahr.  was  supplied  to  one  lot  of  cows  in  opposition  to 
water  at  a  temperature  of  32°  given  a  second  lot.     In  the  first  trial 
the  cows  receiving  the  warm  water  gave  6  per  cent,  more  milk 
than  those  getting  cold  water,  while  in  the  second  trial  there  is  a 
difference  of  only  one  per  cent,  in  favor  of  the  warmer  water. 
The  cows  given  the  warm  water  drank  from  8  to  10  pounds  more 
daily  than  those  supplied  cold  water. 

At  the  Indiana  Station, 2  Wolf  found  that  when  the  temper- 
ature of  the  water  supplied  was  reduced  from  79°  to  38°  Fahr., 
the  cows  fell  off  8  per  cent,  in  milk  yield. 

628.  Drinking   at  will. —  Backhaus3  reports  trials  with  cows 
kept  in  an  ordinary  stable  where  water  was  given  them  twice 
daily;  they  were  then  changed  to  stalls  having  troughs  with  a 
constant  water  supply  in  each  manger.     Under  this  change  the 
milk  yield  increased  on  an  average  about  one  pound  per  cow  daily, 
there  being  no  decrease  in  the  fat  content.     The  increased  yield 
due  to  a  constant  supply  of  water  was  estimated  at  225  pounds 
of  milk  per  cow  annually.   (710) 

629.  Salt  for  milch  cows. 4 —  Three  cows  were  fed  from  June  20 
to  July  15  without  an  allowance  of  salt;  the  milk  yielded  from 
July  4  to  18  amounted  to  454  pounds.     From  July  18  to  August  1, 
4  ounces  of  salt  were  given  daily  to  each  cow,  and  the  yield  of 
milk  during  this  time  was  564  pounds,  an  increase  of  110  pounds. 

63Q.  Value  of  shelter.— At  the  Indiana  Station, «  Plumb  tested 
the  value  of  shelter  with  six  grade  cows  divided  into  two  lots  of 

1  Repte.  1889-90.        2  Bui.  24.         8  Milch  Zeit..  1892.  pp.  509^12. 
«  Loc.  cit.,  1895,  p.  186.        °  Bui.  47. 


412  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

three  each,  the  lots  being  as  nearly  equal  in  all  respects  as  possi- 
ble. One  lot  was  housed  in  the  stable  except  on  pleasant  days, 
when  an  hour's  exercise  was  allowed.  On  disagreeable  days  they 
were  turned  out  to  drink  and  immediately  returned  to  their  stalls. 
The  lot  subjected  to  exposure  was  turned  into  the  yard  at  8  A.  M., 
regardless  of  the  weather,  and  returned  to  the  barn  at  4  P.  M.  In 
a  protected  corner  of  the  barnyard  was  an  open  shed  furnishing 
shelter,  and  under  this  the  mid-day  feed  of  hay  was  given.  Evi- 
dently the  cows  most  exposed  were  even  then  under  more  comfort- 
able conditions  than  are  cows  on  many  dairy  farms  at  the  North 
during  winter.  The  trial  lasted  48  days,  during  which  time  the 
exposed  cows  ate  512  pounds  less  hay,  but  388  pounds  more  corn 
meal  and  368  pounds  more  bran  than  the  housed  lot.  Despite 
the  extra  feed  they  shrank  33  pounds  in  weight,  while  the  shel- 
tered lot  gained  231  pounds  and  gave  161  pounds  more  milk. 
Plumb,  summarizing  the  result,  gives  the  following  financial 
statement:  • 

Saving  in  cost  of  feed  eaten $4  23 

Value  of  extra  milk,  161  pounds 2  79 

Value  of  231  pounds  gain  at  2.5  cents  per  pound 5  77 

Amount  saved  by  sheltering  three  cows  48  days.... $12  79 
Amount  saved  by  sheltering  one  cow  48  days 4  26 

These  results,  showing  the  great  importance  of  sheltering  dairy 
cows,  stand  in  strong  contrast  with  experimental  data  in  regard 
to  shelter  in  winter  for  fattening  sheep  and  steers.  (561,  697,  750) 

631.  Influence  of  work  on  quality  of  milk. —  The  composition 
and  quality  of  the  milk  of  two  cows  employed  in  plowing  was 
studied  by  Domic.  *     It  was  found  that  the  composition  of  the 
milk  was  but  slightly  changed  because  of  the  work  performed. 
The  quantity  of  milk  decreased  15. 5  and  10. 5  per  cent,  respect- 
ively.    The  quality  was  impaired,  its  keeping  ability  being  low- 
ered, and  the  acidity  increased  1  to  2  degrees. 

632.  Effects  of  grooming. —  In  experiments  by  Backhaus2  with 
cows,  a  difference  of  2.5  to  8.3  per  cent,  in  the  yield  of  milk  and 
fat  was  noted  in  favor  of  grooming  cows. 

*  Milch  Zeit.,  1896,  p.  331. 

2  Jour.  f.  Landw.,  41,  1893,  p.  332. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


STATION  TESTS  WITH  FEEDING  STUFFS  FOE  DAIRY  COWS. 
I.   Concentrated  Feeds. 

633.  Whole  corn  compared  with  corn  and  cob  meal. —  In  a  feed- 
ing trial  with  seven  cows  at  the  Ohio  Station, 1  corn  and  cob  meal 
fed  with  hay  was  compared  with  ear  corn.  The  average  yield 

per  cow  during  a  fourteen- day  period  was: 

Daily  milk  Per  cent,  fat 

yield.  in  milk. 

When  fed  corn  and  cob  meal 16. 2  pounds.  3.57 

When  fed  whole  ear  corn 15. 7  pounds.  3.76 

It  will  be  seen  that  during  the  corn  and  cob  meal  period  the 
yield  of  milk  was  one-half  pound  more  daily  for  each  cow.  This 
has  little  significance,  however,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the 
period  of  lactation  was  advanced  two  weeks  during  the  second 
trial.  (158,  382,  539) 

(534.  Waste  in  feeding  whole  ear  corn. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Sta- 
tion, Woll, 2  observing  unbroken  grains  of  corn  in  the  excrement 
of  cows  fed  dry  ear  corn  and  also  those  getting  ear  corn  in  silage, 
ascertained  the  amount  of  grain  passed  by  the  cows  during  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  droppings  were  washed  and  the  grains  of  corn 
collected.  The  figures  in  the  table  give  the  weight  of  the  corn 
calculated  to  the  same  water  content  as  when  fed: 

Amount  of  corn  found  in  excrement  of  cows — Wisconsin  Station. 


Cow  fed 
dry 
corn. 

Cow  fed 
silage 
corn. 

Weight  of  corn  as  fed,  pounds        .  ..        

5  75 

12  23 

Weight  of  droppings  for   twenty-four  hours, 
pounds  

84  75 

74 

Undigested  kernels  of  corn  quarts.         ..   . 

1  25 

1 

Weight  of  kernels,  pounds.                

1  05 

367 

Per  cent,  of  corn  appearing  in  droppings  

18  3 

3  0 

Kept.  1883. 


2  Kept.  1892. 


414 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


We  learn  by  this  table  that  over  18  per  cent,  of  the  dry  ear 
corn  and  only  3  per  cent,  of  the  silage  corn  passed  through  the 
alimentary  tract  in  practically  unbroken  form.  The  voided  corn 
was  tested  in  a  seed  germinator,  43  per  cent,  of  the  dry  corn  grains 
and  none  of  the  silage  kernels  germinating.  (538) 

635.  Maize  feed  versus  corn  meal  and  bran. —  At  the  Vermont 
Station,  Hills1  compared  maize  feed  with  corn  meal  and  bran, 
equal  parts  by  weight,  for  dairy  cows.  The  roughage  consisted 
of  two  parts  of  hay  and  one  of  silage. 

Maize  feed  versus  corn  meal  and  bran  —  Vermont  Station. 


Feed  eaten. 

Products. 

Roughage. 

Maize  feed. 

Corn  meal 
and  bran. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Lbs. 

2,424 

2,427 

Lbs. 
1,000 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

2,388 
2,164 

Lbs. 

114.3 
102.2 

1,008 

tn  favor  of  ma 

ize  feed  

224 

12.1 

636.  Gluten  feed  compared  with  corn  meal  and  bran. —  In  trials 
by  Hills  at  the  Vermont  Station2  cows  were  fed  daily  eight 
pounds  of  corn  meal  and  bran,  equal  parts  by  weight,  during  the 
first  and  third  periods.  In  the  second  period  gluten  feed  was 
substituted  for  half  the  corn  and  bran  mixture. 

Gluten  feed}  corn  meal  and  bran  compared  with  corn  meal  and  bran 
only  —  Vermont  Station. 


Feed  eaten. 


Roughage. 

Gluten  with 
corn  meal  and 
bran. 

Corn  meal 
and  bran 
only. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Lbs. 

2,846 
2,924 

Lbs. 
1,000 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

3,048 
2,760 

Lbs, 

142.2 
125.6 

1,000 

In  favor  of  glu 

288 

16.6 

Products. 


1  Bui.  48. 

2  Loc.  cit. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows. 


415 


Because  of  the  heavy  character  of  the  gluten  feed  it  was  deemed 
advisable  that  not  over  one -half  of  the  concentrates  in  the  ration 
consist  of  this  material.  The  roughage  was  of  equal  parts  silage 
and  hay,  by  weight. 

There  was  a  gain  of  10.4  per  cent,  of  milk  and  13.2  per  cent, 
of  fat  by  substituting  gluten  feed  for  half  the  corn  meal  and  bran 
of  the  ration. 

The  results  of  this  trial  and  that  with  maize  feed  substantiate 
the  claim  of  high  nutritive  value  for  these  by-products  of  the 
glucose  and  starch  factories.  (161-4) 

637.  Gluten  meal  compared  with  cotton-seed  meal. —  At  the 
Maine  Station, l  Bartlett  fed  six  cows,  averaging  900  pounds  each, 
for  two  months  on  rations  containing  cotton-seed  meal  and  gluten 
meal,  with  the  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Feeding  cotton-seed  meal  and  gluten  meal  —  Maine  Station. 


Ration. 

Average  daily 
products,  per 
cow. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Timothy  hay,  15  pounds... 
Silage,  20  pounds  

Gluten  meal,  3  pounds  
Corn  meal,  2  pounds  

Lbs. 
18.6 

Lbs. 
0.92 

Bran  2  pounds 

Timothy  hay,  15  pounds... 
Silage,  20  pounds  

Cotton-seed  meal,  2  pounds 

18.9 

0.96 

Bran  3  pounds 

Bartlett  concludes:  "The  foregoing  data  indicate  that  gluten 
meal  is  fully  equal  to  cotton-seed  meal  when  fed  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  make  the  amount  of  digestible  nutrients  equal  in  each 
ration.  It  is  not  equal  to  cotton-seed  meal  pound  for  pound  as  a 
source  of  protein,  as  it  contains,  on  an  average,  about  one-quarter 
less  of  that  nutrient.  It  makes  a  very  good  quality  of  butter,  but 
slightly  softer  than  that  made  from  cotton-seed  meal  when  fed  in 
the  quantity  used  in  this  experiment."  (161-4,  210-12,  216-17) 

638.  Wheat  meal  compared  with  corn  meal. —  At  the  Maine  Sta- 
tion, 2  Bartlett  also  compared  wheat  meal  with  corn  meal,  six  cows 

1  Kept.  1896.  2  Kept.  1895. 


416 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


being  used.  In  the  first  and  third  periods  all  received  the  follow- 
ing ration:  Timothy  hay,  eighteen  pounds 5  wheat  meal,  five 
pounds;  cotton-seed  meal,  two  pounds.  In  the  second  period  corn 
meal  was  substituted  for  wheat  meal. 

Wheat  meal  compared  with  corn  meal  —  Maine  Station. 


Average  daily 
yield. 

Weight. 

Water 
drank 
daily. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Gain. 

Loss. 

Period     I  wheat  meal      

Lbs. 

19.7 
18.8 
17.0 

Lbs. 

.87 
.85 
.84 

Lbs. 
3 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

61 
64 
68 

Period    II  corn  meal      

58 

Period  III,  wheat  meal  

6 

Making  allowance  for  decreased  milk  flow  as  the  lactation 
period  lengthened,  the  results  may  be  regarded  as  practically 
equal.  There  was  a  slight  gain  in  weight  by  the  cows  during  the 
two  wheat-meal  periods,  while  when  corn  meal  was  fed  there  was 
a  decided  decrease.  We  conclude  that  wheat  meal  is  at  least 
equal  to  corn  meal  as  a  feed  for  the  dairy  cow.  (166-8) 

639.  Wheat  meal  compared  with  mixed  grain. — At  the  Ontario 
Agricultural  College, 1  Dean  fed  one  lot  of  cows  wheat  meal,  and 
another  mixed  grain  consisting  of  one-half  oats  and  one-fourth 
each  of  ground  barley  and  peas.  Nine  pounds  of  grain  were 
fed  daily  with  hay,  straw  and  silage,  the  trial  lasting  sixty  days. 

Feeding  wheat  meal  in  comparison  with  mixed  grain  meal —  Ontario 
Agricultural  College. 


* 

Grain  fed. 

Milk  per  cow 
daily. 

Total  increase  in 
live  weight. 

Cost  of  produc- 
ing 100  Ibs.  of 
milk. 

Mixed  meal  

26  8  pounds. 

38.5  pounds. 

46  cents. 

Wheat  meal 

24  1  pounds. 

10     pounds. 

57  cents. 

The  milk  flow  was  better  maintained  on  the  mixed-meal  ration 
than  on  the  ground- wheat  ration.  The  cost  of  producing  100 
pounds  of  milk  was  calculated  on  the  basis  of  ordinary  Ontario 

iBept.1893. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows. 


417 


prices  for  cattle  feeds,  viz.:  hay  $6.50,  straw  $2,  silage  $1.75,  per 
ton;  oats  24J  cents,  peas  57  cents,  barley  38  cents  and  wheat  60 
cents,  per  bushel.  (166-8) 

640.  Wheat  bran  compared  with  mixed  grain. —  During  the  years 
1893-94  extensive  feeding  trials  were  conducted  by  the  Copen- 
hagen Experiment  Station1  on  the  estates  of  dairy  farmers.  In 
these  trials  447  cows  were  used.  One  lot  of  cows  on  each  estate 
was  fed  a  mixture  of  barley  and  oats;  a  second  was  fed  one-half 
wheat  bran  and  one-half  grain  mixture,  while  a  third  lot  received 
wheat  bran  only.  The  results  briefly  summarized  were  as  follows: 

Feeding  mixed  grain  and  wheat  bran  to  447  dairy  cows  —  Copen- 
hagen (Denmark)  Station. 


Mixed 
grain. 

One-half 
grain,  one- 
half  bran. 

Wheat 
bran 
only. 

Average  milk  yield  per  cow,  pounds  
Average  per  cent,  solids  in  milk  

21.9 
11  66 

22.1 
11  75 

22.1 
11.77 

Average  per  cent,  fat  in  milk  

3.04 

3.11 

3.12 

These  results  agree  closely,  and  from  them  we  may  assume  that 
wheat  bran  is  of  equal  feeding  value  for  milch  cows  with  a 
mixture  of  barley  and  oats. 

The  findings  of  this  test  are  of  great  value  because  of  the  large 
number  of  cows  used  in  it  and  from  the  further  fact  that  the 
animals  were  on  various  large  farms  under  normal  conditions, 
while  all  the  observations  were  taken  and  recorded  by  Station 
officials.  (175) 

641.  Shorts  compared  with  wheat  bran. —  The  Copenhagen  Sta- 
tion also  conducted  trials  with  wheat  shorts  in  comparison  with 
wheat  bran,  240  cows  on  several  estates  being  used  in  trials  dur- 
ing the  years  1893-94.  The  shorts  gave  a  slightly  larger  milk 
yield  on  three  of  the  estates,  but  the  difference  was  small. 

Combining  the  results  of  this  trial  with  those  reported  in  the 
preceding  article,  we  learn  that  bran,  shorts  and  mixed  grain  are 
practically  of  equal  value  for  feeding  the  dairy  cow.  (174) 

1 29th  Kept.  1894. 
27 


418 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


642.  Ground  oats  compared  with  wheat  bran. —  At  the  Wiscon- 
sin Station, l  Woll  compared  ground  oats  with  wheat  bran  in  two 
feeding  trials  with  six  cows.  Ten  pounds  of  these  concentrates 
were  given  each  cow  daily  with  the  results  shown  below: 

Returns  from  feeding  ground  oats  and  bran —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Daily  milk 
yield. 

Daily  fat 
yield. 

Per  cent, 
fat. 

Lbs. 
21  07 

Lbs. 
933 

4  65 

Bran  

1U  19 

845 

4.68 

In  favor  of  oats                 

1  88 

088 

—  03 

Here  is  a  return  of  10  per  cent,  more  milk  and  fat  from  oats 
than  from  bran.  The  high  value  of  oats  in  the  dairy  is  well 
illustrated  in  this  trial.  (175,  186) 

643.  Sorghum-seed  meaL —  At  the  New  Jersey  Station, 2  Cook 
tested  the  relative  merits  of  amber  cane  sorghum-seed  meal  and 
corn  meal  for  milk  production.  Three  cows  were  fed  the  follow- 
ing ration  per  1, 000  pounds  live  weight:  Twenty  pounds  brewers7 
grains,  nine  pounds  corn  meal,  five  pounds  corn  stover,  and  five 
pounds  bran.  After  receiving  this  ration  twenty  days,  sorghum- 
seed  meal  was  gradually  substituted  for  the  corn  meal  until  it  re- 
placed the  latter  —  the  same  amount,  nine  pounds,  being  fed. 
When  this  feed  had  been  used  twenty  days  the  ration  was  grad- 
ually changed  back  to  corn  meal.  The  results  for  the  three 
periods  are  as  follows: 

Period     I.  Cows  fed  corn  meal  averaged  28.1  pounds  of  milk  each  daily. 
Period   II.  Cows  fed  sorghum  meal  averaged  24.6  pounds  of  milk  each 

daily. 
Period  III.  Cows  fed  corn  meal  averaged  27  pounds  of  milk  each  daily. 

It  was  observed  that  when  the  full  sorghum-meal  ration  was 
reached  the  yield  of  milk  dropped  immediately.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  changing  from  sorghum  back  to  corn  meal  there  was 
an  increase  in  the  milk  flow.  These  trials  show  that  sorghum 
meal  is  10  per  cent,  less  valuable  than  corn  meal  for  milk  pro- 
duction. (197) 

»  Kept.  1890.  2  Kept.  1882. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows. 


419 


644.  Cotton  seed  and  its  by-products. —  At  the  Mississippi  Sta- 
tion, l  Lloyd  tested  cotton  seed  and  its  by-products  in  various 
forms  for  milk  and  butter  production  with  the  results  summarized 
in  the  following  tdble:2 

Feeding  cotton  seed  and  its  by-products  to  dairy  cows  —  Mississippi 

Station. 


Ration. 

Duration 
of  period. 

Number  of 
animals. 

M 

Fat  content 
of  milk. 

Cost  of  feed 
per  gallon 
of  milk. 

Average 
daily  but- 
ter pro- 
duction. | 

Cost  of  feed 
per  Ib.  of 
butter. 

Four    grade    Jerseys    and  one 
grade  Holstein.  (a) 
9.5   pounds  raw  cotton  seed, 
9.2    pounds    Bermuda 
hay 

Days. 
35 

5 

Gal- 
lons. 

1.10 

Per 

cent. 

5.62 

Cents. 

7.7 

Pound. 

.498 

Cents. 
17  4 

10.6    pounds   roasted   cotton 
seed.  10.5  pounds  Ber- 
muda hay        

35 

5 

1.22 

5  55 

8.5 

.545 

19  1 

10.4  pounds     boiled     cotton 
seed,   8.5  pounds  Ber- 
muda hay  

35 

5 

97 

5.64 

8  8 

439 

19  6 

9.9   pounds   corn   meal,   9.9 
pounds  Bermuda  hay... 
9.5   pounds  raw  cotton  seed, 
8.5     pounds     timothy 
hay  

35 
35 

5 
5 

1.47 
.91 

3.86 
5.43 

12.8 
12.8 

.455 
.396 

41.4 
29.5 

9.5  pounds  raw  cotton  seed, 
10.9   pounds   Bermuda 
hav 

35 

5 

1  30 

5  38 

12  3 

560 

28  5 

Four   grade    Jerseys    and    one 
grade  Holstein.  (b) 
7.8   pounds  raw  cotton  seed, 
.7.7    pounds    Bermuda 
hay,  10  pounds  silage  ... 
8      pounds  raw  cotton  seed, 
4.9      pounds      timothy 
hay,  9.8  pounds  silage  ... 
9.9   pounds     boiled     cotton 
seed,  7.5  pounds   Ber- 
muda hay,  9.9  pounds 
silage 

35 
35 

35 

5 
5 

5 

1.09 
.97 

1  56 

5.95 
5.73 

5  84 

6.3 
8.3 

4  9 

.522 
.438 

717 

13.2 
18.4 

10  9 

9.9  pounds     boiled     cotton 
seed.  6.5  pounds  timo- 
thy hay,  9.9  pounds  sil- 
age 

35 

5 

1  30 

5  87 

84 

1Q    I 

8.8    pounds         cotton  -seed 
meal,  10.2  pounds  Ber- 
muda hay,  9.9  pounds 
silage  

35 

5 

1  51 

5  74 

9  8 

680 

22 

8.8    pounds         cotton  -seed 
meal,  8.8  pounds  timo- 
thy hay,  9.9  pounds  sil- 
age   

35 

5 

1  51 

5  70 

12  6 

685 

28  1 

(a)  Bui.  lo.—  Cost  of  feed  in  these  six  experiments,  per  ton:  Raw  cotton  seed,  $fi; 
boiled  cotton  seed,  $6.30;  roasted  cotton  seed,  $7.20;  cotton-seed  meal,  $20;  Bermuda 
hay.  $12.50;  corn  meal.  $25;  timothy  hay,  $20.80. 

(6)  Bui.  21.— Roasted  and  boiled  cotton  seed  and  cotton-seed  meal  were  same  prices 
as  in  note  (a);  Bermuda  hay,  $10;  timothy  hay,  $21.46;  and  silage  $2  per  ton, 

1  Buls.  15,  21. 

2  The  Cotton  Plant:  Its  History,  etc.,  p.  412. 


420 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  cheapest  returns  were  obtained  from 
feeding  boiled  cotton  seed,  Bermuda  hay  and  silage;  next  in 
economy  came  raw  cotton  seed,  while  cotton -seed  meal,  at  the 
price  charged,  stood  third  in  cost.  Cotton  seed  was  found  to  be 
much  cheaper  than  corn  meal.  (216-17,  723) 

645.  Cotton-seed  meal  compared  with  bran. —  At  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Station, 1  Hunt  obtained  about  one-fifth  more  milk  when  the 
cows  were  fed  cotton-seed  meal  in  place  of  bran,  the  cotton-seed 
meal  (six  pounds)  constituting  about  three-fifths  of  the  concen- 
trates and  about  one-fourth  of  the  total  feed  eaten.    The  percent- 
ages of  fat  in  the  milk  were  not  influenced  by  changes  in  feed. 

646.  Linseed  meal  versus  cotton-seed  meal. —  At  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Station, 2  Waters  and  Hess  compared  linseed  meal  with  cot- 
ton-seed meal.     Nine  cows  were  used  in  this  trial,  the  ration  in 
one  period  consisting  of  cotton -seed  meal,  chopped  wheat  and  corn 
stover;  later,  the  cows  were  fed  the  same  ration,  except  that  lin- 
seed meal  (old  process)  was  substituted  for  the  cotton-seed  meal. 
The  results  of  the  trial  were  as  follows: 

I/inseed  meal  (old  process)  and  cotton-seed  meal  compared  —  Penn- 
sylvania Station. 


Feeds  given. 

Cows  fed  on  — 

Linseed  meal. 

Cotton-seed 
meal. 

Oil  meal  or  cotton-seed  meal. 

Rat 

5.  99  pounds. 
5.  99  pounds. 
9.  31  pounds. 

ion. 

5.  26  pounds. 
6.  69  pounds. 
9.  28  pounds. 

Chopped  wheat        ..             

Corn  stover    

Digestible  nutrients  

12.  74  pounds. 
1  :4.4 

Product,  9  c< 

4,  087.  7  pounds. 
258.  3  pounds. 
379.  8  pounds. 

12.  87  pounds. 

i   .  q  q 
1  !  O*V 

>ws,  30  days. 

4,  381.  9  pounds. 
254.0  pounds. 
405.  8  pounds. 

Nutritive  ratio  

Milk  

Butter      ..     ..   

Solids  not  fat  

Average  per  cent,  fat  in  milk  

5.1 

Sum] 

91.  2  pounds. 
14.  4  pounds. 

4.7 

nary. 

87.  7  pounds. 
15.0  pounds. 

Digestible  matter  for  100  pounds  milk  .. 
Digestible  matter  for  1  pound  butter  

Kept.  1891. 


Kept.  1895. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows. 


421 


Though  the  rations  are  not  identical  they  so  nearly  coincide  in 
digestible  nutrients  that  the  results  are  comparable.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  cows  receiving  cotton-seed  meal  were  fed  slightly 
more  digestible  matter  with  a  somewhat  narrower  nutritive  ratio. 

In  these  trials  cotton-seed  meal  produced  more  milk  than  did 
linseed  meal,  while  the  latter  gave  somewhat  better  returns  in 
butter.  All  things  considered,  neither  feed  showed  an  advantage 
over  the  other.  (206-216) 

647.  OH  cake  compared  with  grain. —  During  feeding  trials  with 
cows  conducted  by  the  Copenhagen  Station1  in  1891  and  1892, 
the  comparative  feeding  value  of  grain  and  oil  cake  of  various 
kinds  was  studied,  two  hundred  and  forty  cows  on  various  estates 
being  used  in  the  trials.  The  grain  fed  was  a  mixture  of  barley 
and  oats;  the  oil  cake  consisted  of  equal  parts  by  weight  of  palm 
nut,  rape  seed,  and  sunflower-seed  cake.  In  each  series  of  ex- 
periments, three  lots  of  cows  were  fed  as  follows:  Lot  I,  f  grain, 
J  oil  cake;  Lot  II,  J  grain,  £  oil  cake;  Lot  III,  J  grain  and  f  oil 
cake.  The  yield  and  fat  content  of  the  milk  obtained  during  the 
experiments  are  as  shown  below,  the  figures  being  the  average  of 
the  experiments  continued  for  two  years: 

Feeding  grain  and  oil  caJce  in  varying  proportions  to  24.0  dairy  cows  — 
Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station. 


Lot  I. 

f  grain, 
J  oil  cake. 

Lot  II. 
£  grain, 
%  oil  cake. 

Lot  III. 

\  grain, 
f  oil  cake. 

Average  daily  milk  yield,  pounds.. 
Average  percent,  of  milk  solids.... 
Average  per  cent,  of  fat  

21.7 
11.90 
3  20 

22.9 
11.85 
3.17 

23.4 
11.84 
3.20 

The  table  shows  that  for  each  one  hundred  pounds  of  oil  cake 
substituted  for  the  same  amount  of  mixed  grain  there  was  a  gain  of 
sixty-six  pounds  of  milk,  provided  the  oil  cake  did  not  constitute 
more  than  half  of  the  grain  ration.  The  feeding  of  this  amount 
of  oil  cake  in  the  ration  therefore  proved  economical. 

648.  Dried  distillery  grains  compared  with  oats. —  Experiments 
were  made  in  1893  by  Gripenberg  at  the  Mustiala  (Finland) 

1 27th  Kept.  1892. 


422 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Agricultural  College1  with  four  milch  cows,  in  a  comparison  of 
dried  distillers'  grains  with  oats  for  milk  and  butter  production. 
Hay  and  roots  were  fed  in  addition  to  the  grain,  the  results  being 
as  follows: 

Oats  compared  with  dried  distillers'  (/rains  for  dairy  cows  —  Mustlala 
(Finland)  Agricultural  College. 


Daily  yield. 

Per  cent  fat. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Oats                   

Lbs. 

28.9 
32.3 

Lbs. 

.88 
.96 

3.05 
2.97 

Distillers'  grains  

The  dried  distillers'  grains  produced  about  12  per  cent,  more 
milk  and  9  per  cent,  more  fat  than  did  the  oats,  thus  showing  a 
high  feeding  value. 

II.   Coarse  Feed. 

649.  Upland  prairie  hay  versus  timothy  hay. —  At  the  Minnesota 
Station, 2  Haecker  compared  these  hays  as  feed  for  dairy  cows.  The 
prairie  hay  was  composed  of  native  grasses  grown  on  the  uplands 
of  Minnesota,  and  was  of  excellent  quality.  The  timothy  hay 
was  medium  fine,  rather  short,  cut  early  and  properly  cured, 
showing  fine  aroma  and  good  color.  Sixteen  cows  were  used  in 
the  trial,  each  group  receiving  the  same  quantity  of  grain  and 
hay.  The  experiment  lasted  about  three  months,  with  the  re- 
sults shown  in  the  table: 

Comparison  of  native  upland  prairie  hay  and  timothy  hay  —  Minne- 
sota Station. 


Feed  given. 

Digestible  nutrients  in 
rations. 

Returns. 

Grain. 

Sil- 
age. 

Hay. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
extract. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Prairie  hay  
Timothy  hay.. 

2,013 
2,016 

1,680 
1,680 

1,840 
1,840 

2.1 

2.2 

12.5 
13.1 

.69 
.74 

2,586 
2,547 

120.7 
121.3 

Biet.  1893. 


2  Bui.  35. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows. 


423 


It  will  be  seen  that  almost  identical  quantities  of  milk  and  fat 
were  produced  by  the  two  lots  of  cows,  the  excess  of  milk  being 
in  favor  of  prairie  hay,  and  the  excess  of  fat  in  favor  of  timothy. 
From  this  we  conclude  that  upland  prairie  hay  of  good  quality  is 
fully  as  valuable  for  feeding  dairy  cows  as  a  good  grade  of  timothy 
hay. 

650.  Japan  clover  hay  versus  Bermuda  hay. —  In  an  experiment 
with  sixty  cows  conducted  at  the  Mississippi  Station1  by  Lloyd, 
half  were  fed  mixed  hay  (Japan  clover  and  some  chicken  corn)  and 
the  other  half  Bermuda  hay.  Cotton  seed,  cotton-seed  meal  or 
corn  meal  was  fed  in  connection  with  the  hay.  The  mixed  hay  was 
valued  at  $7  and  the  Bermuda  hay  at  $10  per  ton.  The  experi- 
ment was  continued  about  twelve  weeks.  The  'average  results 
obtained  per  cow  daily  were  as  follows,  the  yield  of  fat  given  in 
the  table  being  calculated  from  the  yield  of  butter  by  multiplying 
by  .82,  the  percentage  of  pure  fat  contained: 

Feeding  mixed  hay  and  Bermuda  hay  to  dairy  cows  —  Mississippi 

Station. 


Daily  yield. 

Per  cent, 
fat. 

Average  cost  of  one  — 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Gal.  milk. 

Lb.  butter. 

Bermuda  hay  

Lbs. 

'  8.6 
8.0 

Lbs. 

.35 
.34 

4.08 
4.23 

Cents. 

11.3 
10.6 

Cents. 

26.6 
24.3 

Mixed  hay 

Bermuda  hay  produced  somewhat  more  milk  and  slightly  more 
fat  than  did  the  Japan  clover  hay.  At  the  prices  charged  the 
mixed  hay  was  the  cheaper;  at  equal  prices  there  would  be  little 
difference  in  cost  of  products.  (296) 

651.  Timothy  hay  versus  meadow  fox-tail  hay. —  An  experiment 
was  conducted  at  Mustiala  (Finland)  Agricultural  College2  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  data  concerning  the  relative  value  of 
timothy  and  meadow  fox- tail  (Alopecurus')  hay  for  milk  and  butter 
production.  The  cows  received  similar  quantities  of  both  kinds 
of  hay,  ranging  from  11.7  to  17.6  pounds  per  head  per  day,  and 
oat  straw  ad  libitum.  The  same  amount  of  concentrates  and  roots 


Bui.  13. 


2  Biet.  1893. 


424 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


was  fed  to  each  cow.     Ten  cows  were  included  in  the  experiment, 
with  the  daily  yield  of  milk  and  fat  as  follows: 

Feeding  timothy  and  meadow  fox-tail  hay  to  dairy  cows  —  Mustiala 
(Finland)  Agricultural  College. 


Daily  yield. 

Per  cent.  fat. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Timothy  hay  

Lbs. 

23.5 

24.8 

Lbs. 

.71 

.77 

2.97 
3.08 

Alopecurus  hay.   .......   . 

The  fox- tail  hay  produced  5.5  per  cent,  more  milk  and  8.4  per 
cent,  more  fat  than  the  timothy. 

652,  Fodder  corn  compared  with  timothy  hay. —  At  the  Penn- 
sylvania Station, l  Hunt  and  Caldwell  fed  fodder  corn  and  timothy 
hay  to  cows  to  determine  the  relative  merits  of  these  two  common 
roughage  crops.  There  were  four  cows  in  each  lot,  the  trial  last- 
ing forty-five  days,  with  the  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Fodder  corn  versus  timothy  hay  —  Pennsylvania  Station. 


Cows  fed 
hay. 

Cows  fed 
fodder  corn. 

Hay  or  fodder  eaten  

Lbs. 
4,237 

Lbs. 
4,102 

Ground  oats  eaten  

540 

540 

Bran  eaten 

540 

540 

Total  milk  yielded  ... 

3.084 

2  921 

Total  fat  yielded  

116 

120 

Gain  or  loss  of  cows  in  weight  

84  gain. 

23  loss. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  cows  ate  somewhat  more  hay  than  fod- 
der, the  grain  fed  being  the  same  in  both  cases.  More  milk 
was  obtained  from  the  hay,  but  the  fodder  corn  yielded  more 
butter,  the  cows  in  this  lot  giving  slightly  richer  milk  than  the 
others.  The  cows  fed  hay  gained  in  weight,  while  those  on  fod- 
der corn  lost.  The  trial  shows  these  feeds  to  be  substantially 
equal,  pound  for  pound.  This  being  true,  the  high  value  of 

*  Kept.  1892. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows.  425 

fodder  corn  is  apparent;  for  while  two  tons  of  timothy  hay  per 
acre  is  a  good  return,  these  investigators  report  that  the  fodder 
corn  used  in  the  trial  yielded  at  the  rate  of  8,885  pounds  per 
acre.  The  trial  suggests  the  possibility  that  timothy  hay  con- 
duces to  the  storage  of  fat  in  the  body  of  the  cow,  while  fodder 
corn  turns  the  fat  into  the  milk.  (250) 

653.  Corn  stover  versus  mixed  hay  and  clover  hay. —  At  the 
Wisconsin  Station1  the  writer  compared  corn  stover  with  mixed 
hay  and  clover  hay  for  dairy  cows,  under  the  following  conditions: 
A  crop  of  yellow  dent  corn  yielding  4,490  pounds  of  stalks  when 
dried  in  the  shock,  and  4,941  pounds  of  ears  per  acre,  was  har- 
vested in  the  usual  manner.  After  drying,  the  corn  was  husked 
and  the  stalks  reserved  for  feeding.  Uncut  stalks  were  fed  in 
comparison  with  uncut  hay.  The  mixed  hay  consisted  of  one- 
third  clover  and  two-thirds  timothy.  The  clover  hay  used  was 
from  medium  red  clover,  cut  early  to  preserve  the  leaves  and 
heads  in  good  condition.  Four  good  cows  were  used,  forming 
two  lots  of  two  each,  one  lot  getting  hay,  while  the  other  was  fed 
stover.  After  three  weeks  the  feeding  was  reversed,  and  the  trial 
continued  for  the  same  period.  The  concentrates  of  the  ration 
consisted  of  five  parts  corn  meal  and  seven  parts  wheat  bran  by 
weight,  fed  dry.  The  results  of  the  trial  are  here  summarized. 

Comparing  corn  stover  with  mixed  hay,  when  each  was  sup- 
plemented by  280  pounds  of  corn  meal  and  392  pounds  of  wheat 
bran,  it  was  found  that  — 

2,374  pounds  of  corn  stover  returned  1,120.7  pounds  of  milk,  making  57 
pounds  of  butter. 

755  pounds  of  mixed  hay  returned  1,064  pounds  of  milk,  making  56.1 
pounds  of  butter. 

Comparing  corn  stover  with  clover  hay,  grain  being  fed  as 
above,  it  was  found  that  — 

1,867  pounds  of  corn  stover  returned  1,079.3  pounds  of  milk,  making 
52.2  pounds  of  butter. 

643  pounds  of  clover  hay  returned  1,059  pounds  of  milk,  making  54.5 
pounds  of  butter. 

The  returns  being  practically  equal,  we  conclude  that  one  ton 
of  mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay  is  worth  three  tons  of  corn  stover, 
or  corn  stalks,  fed  as  were  these. 

1  Kept.  1884. 


426  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

In  the  second  trial  one  ton  of  clover  hay  was  found  to  be  worth 
somewhat  more  than  three  tons  of  corn  stover. 

As  before  noted,  the  corn  stover  wasfed  uncut,  and  the  parts 
left  uneaten,  day  by  day,  were  saved  and  weighed.  It  was  found 
that  thirty -four  per  cent,  of  the  fodder  remained  unconsumed  in 
the  coarser  portions  of  the  corn  stalks.  (251) 

Dairymen  will  be  interested  in  learning  the  quantity  of  feed 
required  for  a  unit  of  milk  and  butter  in  the  above  trial.  These 
are  given  in  the  following  table: 

Feed  for  100  pounds  of  milk  and  100  pounds  of  butter  as  shown  in  tlie 
trial  just  reported. 

When  feeding  corn  stover. 

For  100  pounds  of  milk.  For  100  pounds  of  butter. 

193  pounds  stover.  3 , 880  pounds  of  stover. 

60  pounds  corn  meal  and  bran.        1,233  pounds  corn  meal  and  bran. 

When  feeding  mixed  hay. 

71  pounds  mixed  hay.  1 , 348  pounds  mixed  hay. 

62  pounds  corn  meal  and  bran.        1 , 200  pounds  corn  meal  and  bran. 

When  feeding  clover  hay. 

60  pounds  clover  hay.  1, 179  pounds  clover  hay. 

63  pounds  corn  meal  and  bran.        1 , 231  pounds  corn  meal  and  bran. 

654.  Silage  compared  with  hay. —  At  the  Maine  Station, 1  Jordan 
compared  silage  made  from  various  kinds  of  corn  with  "good 
hay"  (mostly  timothy)  for  milk  production.  Four  cows  were 
fed,  first  hay,  later  hay  and  silage,  and  again  hay.  During  the 
whole  period  each  cow  received  the  same  amount  of  concentrates 
daily.  The  following  results  were  secured: 

On  hay  and  grain Feb.   17  to  Men.    9 21 . 7  pounds  milk. 

On  hay,  silage  and  grain. ...Mch.  10  to  May  11 22.5  pounds  milk. 

On  hay  and  grain May  12  to  May  25 19.6  pounds  milk. 

Here  is  an  increase  when  changing  from  hay  to  silage  and  hay, 
and  a  decrease  when  changing  back  from  silage  to  hay.  The 
effects  of  the  two  feeds  are  shown  in  another  table  by  the  same 
investigator,  who  groups  the  milk  yield  of  the  four  cows  in 

1  Kept.  1889. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows.  427 

fourteen- day  periods  just  preceding  or  following  a  change  in  the 
roughage  supplied. 

Total  yield  of  milk,  four  cows,  14  days. 

On  hay 1,212  pounds. 

Changed  to  silage  and  hay 1,294  pounds. 

An  increase  of  82  pounds,  or  7  per  cent. 

On  silage  and  hay 1,200  pounds. 

Changed  to  hay 1,100  pounds. 

A  decrease  of  100  pounds,  or  8  per  cent. 

We  observe  that  when  the  cows  were  changed  from  hay  to  silage 
and  hay  there  was  an  increase  of  7  per  cent,  in  the  milk  flow,  and 
when  changed  back  a  shrinkage  of  8  per  cent.  There  was  no 
difference  in  the  composition  of  the  milk  because  of  the  different 
feeds.  Jordan  concludes:  "In  this  experiment  the  addition  of 
silage  to  the  ration  resulted  in  a  somewhat  increased  production 
of  milk  solids,  which  was  not  caused  by  an  increase  in  the  digesti- 
ble food  material  eaten,  but  which  must  have  been  due  either  to 
the  superior  value  of  the  nutrients  of  the  silage  over  those  of  the 
hay  or  to  the  general  physiological  effect  of  feeding  a  greater 
variety  of  foods.  In  other  words,  8.8  pounds  of  silage  proved  to 
be  somewhat  superior  to  1.98  pounds  of  hay  (mostly  timothy), 
the  quantity  of  digestible  material  being  the  same  in  the  two 
cases.  .  .  .  Assuming  the  digestible  matter  of  hay  and  silage 
to  be  of  equal  value,  pound  for  pound,  when  hay  is  worth  $10 
per  ton,  silage  of  the  kind  used  in  this  experiment  would  be 
worth  $2.25  per  ton.  But  this  silage  contained  more  water  than 
the  average.  .  .  .  Had  it  been  of  average  quality,  then  the 
ton  value  reckoned  on  the  above  basis  would  be  $2.62.  But  in 
this  case  we  should  give  the  silage  the  credit  of  the  increased 
milk  production,  which  seems  to  have  been  at  the  rate  of  85 
pounds  of  milk  to  each  ton  of  silage.77  (390-91) 

655.  Silage  versus  fodder  corn. —  At  the  New  Jersey  Station1 
Yoorhees  and  Lane  conducted  a  trial  with  silage  and  fodder  corn 
for  milk  production. 

A  field  of  fifteen  acres  was  planted  to  corn  in  rows  three  feet 
six  inches  apart,  with  the  stalks  eight  inches  apart  in  the  row. 

1  Bui.  122. 


428 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  crop  was  harvested  the  first  week  in  September,  when  the  ears 
were  beginning  to  glaze.  The  corn  from  twelve  acres  was  run 
through  the  feed-cutter  and  placed  in  a  silo,  11.25  tons  being  the 
average  yield  of  green  forage  per  acre.  The  crop  of  three  acres 
was  harvested  by  cutting  and  shocking  in  the  usual  manner. 
After  curing  for  one  month  the  forage  was  stored  in  the  barn,  the 
average  yield  being  4.1  tons  of  dry  fodder  per  acre.  The  cost  of 
placing  the  crop  in  the  silo  was  $11.22  per  acre.  (400)  The  cost 
for  cutting,  shocking,  storing  the  fodder  and  running  it  through 
the  feed-cutter  was  $10.31  per  acre. 

The  total  losses  in  dry  matter  were  assumed  to  be  practically 
equal  for  the  two  methods.  The  changes  in  the  fodder  were  found 
to  be  an  increase  in  crude  fiber  and  a  decrease  in  protein,  ash  and 
nitrogen-free  extract.  The  changes  in  the  silo  resulted  in  the 
conversion  of  about  two-thirds  of  the  albuminoids  into  amides. 
(385-7)  Two  lots  of  four  cows  each  were  fed  silage  and  fodder 
respectively,  the  feeds  for  the  lots  being  reversed  at  the  close  of 
the  first  period  in  order  that  both  lots  might  be  tested  upon  the 
same  feed.  The  rations  were  so  compounded  that  the  fodder  or 
silage  furnished  at  least  one-half  the  total  dry  matter  and  two- 
thirds  the  digestible  carbohydrates.  The  silage  was  eaten  with- 
out waste,  while  a  portion  of  the  fodder  was  left  uneaten.  Both 
lots  of  cows  gained  in  weight  during  the  trial.  The  production 
of  milk  and  fat  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  silage  and  dry  forage  to  dairy  cows  —  New  Jersey  Station. 


No.  of 
days. 

Total 
yield  of 
milk. 

Av. 

yield 
per  day 
per  cow 

Av.  per 

cent,  of 
fat. 

Total 
yield  of 
fat. 

Av.  fat 
per  day 
per  cow 

Silage     

24 

Lbs. 
2  276.2 

Lbs. 
23.7 

3  78 

Lbs. 
86.15 

Lbs. 

897 

Dry  fodder  ration  

24 

2  017  9 

21  0 

3  86 

78  02 

813 

258  3 

2  7 

—  0  08 

8  13 

084 

Percent,  of  increase  

12.8 

10  4 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  silage  ration  produced  12.8  per  cent, 
more  milk  and  10.4  per  cent,  more  fat  than  did  the  dry  forage. 

656.  Rape  for  milch  cows. — At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, 1  Shaw  investigated  the  value  of  rape  for  milch  cows.  Four 

*  Kept.  1892. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows.  429 

cows  were  separated  into  two  lots  and  fed  during  four  periods 
lasting  fifty-three  days.  Eape  was  fed  during  Periods  II  and  IV. 
The  cows  were  pastured  during  Period  I,  and  fed  hay  and  silage 
during  Period  III.  Five  pounds  of  meal  were  fed  daily  per  head 
throughout  the  trial.  Lot  I  received  forty  pounds  of  rape  per 
day,  and  hay  ad  libitum;  Lot  n  was  fed  rape  ad  libitum,  consuming 
on  an  average  seventy-six  pounds  daily.  The  average  daily  milk 

yield  for  each  lot  was  as  follows: 

Rape.  No  rape. 

Lot   1 19. 13  pounds.  17.25  pounds. 

Lot  II 18. 20  pounds.  17. 74  pounds. 

The  rape  was  fed  both  before  and  after  milking  without  im- 
parting any  perceptible  taint  to  the  milk  in  either  case.  The 
results  obtained  are  promising  for  rape  as  a  feed  for  the  dairy 
cow.  (334-5) 

657.  Roots  versus  concentrated  feeds. —  At  the  Copenhagen 
Station, 1  eighteen  series  of  experiments  were  conducted  for  three 
consecutive  years  with  636  cows  separated  into  62  lots.  The 
addition  of  40  pounds  of  mangels  or  50  pounds  of  turnips  to  an 
ordinary  ration  for  milch  cows  increased  the  daily  milk  yield  by 
2.75  pounds,  the  cows  increasing  3.63  pounds  per  head  in  live 
weight,  eating  3.08  pounds  less  straw  daily.  In  two  preceding 
years,  2.86  and  1.76  pounds  more  milk  were  obtained  on  heavy 
root  feeding,  the  average  weight  being  5.5  and  3.74  pounds 
more,  and  the  quantity  of  straw  eaten  .55  and  1.98  pounds  less 
per  head  daily.  No  appreciable  difference  in  the  chemical  com- 
position of  the  milk  was  observed  resulting  from  the  more  intense 
feeding.  These  experiments  show  that  one  pound  of  concentrates, 
made  up  of  grain,  bran  and  oil  cake,  proved  equal  to  ten  pounds 
of  mangels  in  feeding  dairy  cows.  There  was  no  appreciable  dif- 
ference in  the  water  content  of  the  milk  produced  by  feeding 
varying  quantities  of  roots.  The  water  found  in  the  milk  was 
within  .24  of  one  per  cent,  for  the  different  lots  of  cows,  the  lowest 
water  content  appearing  in  the  milk  from  cows  receiving  the 
largest  quantity  of  roots.  These  extensive  experiments  completely 
refute  the  charge  that  milk  can  be  indirectly  watered  by  feeding 
roots.  (325) 

1 20th  Kept.  1890. 


430  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

658.  Feeding  potatoes. —  According  to  Cornevin1  milch  cows 
may  be  maintained  exclusively  on  a  ration  of  potatoes,  eating 
about  seven  per  cent,  of  their  weight  daily.     Feeding  exclu- 
sively on  potatoes  increases  the  milk  flow,  but  the  cows  shrink 
in  weight  and  take  their  feed  with  repugnance  if  it  is  continued 
for  any  length  of  time.    Steamed  potatoes  are  readily  eaten  by 
milch  cows,  but,  if  fed  exclusively,  digestion  troubles  will  soon 
appear  and  rumination  be  disturbed  or  suspended. 

In  feeding  potatoes  in  connection  with  other  feeds,  Cornevin 
obtained  the  best  results  when  the  potatoes  furnished  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  total  dry  matter  of  the  ration.  It  was  found  that  raw 
potatoes  favored  milk  secretion,  while  steamed  potatoes  increased 
the  live  weight  and  produced  a  deposition  of  fat.  (316,  484—6, 
866,  897) 

III.  Miscellaneous  Feeding  Substances. 

659.  Feeding  milk  and  skim  milk.— At  the  Iowa  Station,  2  Wil- 
son fed  full  milk  and  afterwards  skim  milk  to  dairy  cows.     The 
cows  shrunk  in  weight  on  full  milk  and  gained  on  skim  milk. 
The  results  obtained  were  fairly  satisfactory. 

Holdefleisz3  recommends  feeding  skim  milk  to  cows.  He  states 
that  they  easily  digest  rations  containing  five,  six  or  even  eight 
liters  (quarts)  of  skim  milk,  even  if  sour;  that  skim  milk  has  a 
favorable  influence  on  the  production  of  milk,  and  that  it  saves 
grain.  The  practice  has  been  followed  by  a  few  American  dairy- 
men, who  report  good  results.4  (357,  736,  869-71,  886-8) 

660.  Whey  for  milch  cows. —  Schrodt5  fed  whey  to  milch  cows 
at  the  Kiel  Dairy  Station.     The  ration  consisted  of  11  pounds 
clover  hay,   5.5  pounds  barley  straw,   10  pounds  mangels,  5.5 
pounds  wheat  bran  and  2. 2  pounds  palm-nut  meal.      During  one 
period  11  pounds  of  sweet  whey  were  fed  and  during  another  22 
pounds.     The  whey  had  a  favorable  influence  on  the  quantity  of 
milk  yielded,  and  no  deleterious  effect  on  the  quality  of  the  but- 
ter.  (359,873,887,889) 

1  Jahresber.  Agr.  Chemie,  1894,  p.  480.  2  Bui.  17. 

3  Allg.  Ztg.  f.  deutsche  Landw.,Vol.  16.  No.7;  Buerstenbinder,  Jahresb.. 
1886,  p.  444.  *  Bui.  38,  Wis.  Expt.  Sta. 

5  Landw.  Wochenbl.  f.  Schl.  Hoi.,  1882,  p.  237;  Jahresber.  u.  Agr. 
Chemie,  1882,  p.  441. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows. 


431 


661.  Fish  scrap. —  According  to  Kiihn,  *   milk   and  butter  of 
normal  quality  were  produced  on  a  daily  allowance  of  2.3  pounds 
of  fat-free  fish  scrap  supplied  with  a  variety  of  other  feed,  no 
deleterious  effects  resulting.   (340,  551,  779) 

662.  Feeding  fat  to  dairy  cows. —  At  the  Cornell  Station, 2  Wing 
conducted  two  trials  in  which  tallow  was  fed  to  dairy  cows  in 
addition  to  the  usual  feed.     In  each  trial  five  cows  were  used.     In 
the  first  the  cows  were  on  pasture,  receiving  in  addition  eight 
pounds  of  grain.    In  the  second  they  were  on  winter  feed,  receiving 
a  like  allowance  of  grain.    The  milk  yield  and  its  composition  were 
ascertained  for  one  week  before  the  trial  began.     After  this  pre- 
liminary period,  beef  tallow  was  added  to  the  ration,  commencing 
with  four  ounces  per  day  for  each  cow.     When  this  was  readily 
eaten,  more  tallow  was  added,  until  after  the  fourth  week  the 
allowance  for  each  cow  reached  two  pounds  daily.     With  this 
amount  added  to  the  ration  the  trial  continued  six  weeks  longer, 
or  until  the  tenth  week,  at  which  time  tallow  was  dropped  from 
the  ration,  the  observations  continuing  two  weeks  longer.     In  the 
table  below  appear  the  results  found  with  two  cows  by  weekly 
periods,  these  being  representative  of  all  the  animals  under  trial: 

Adding  tallow  to  the  ration  of  dairy  cows;  data  for  two  cows,  repre- 
sentative of  ten  —  Cornell  Station. 


Cow  No.  1. 

Cow  No.  2. 

Tallow 
fed 
daily. 

Av. 

milk 
yield 
daily. 

Per 

cent, 
fat. 

Av. 

yield 
butter 
fat 
daily. 

Tallow 
fed 
daily. 

Av. 

milk 
yield 
daily. 

Per 

cent, 
fat. 

Av.  yield 
butter  fat 
daily. 

Preliminary  week  
First  week  

Oz. 

........ 

13 
20 
29 
32 
32 
32 
32 
32 
32 

Lbs. 

47.2 
48.9 
49.5 
46.1 
43.8 
46.2 
42.7 
43.3 
44.1 
41.5 
36.8 
42.6 
41.2 

3.5 
3.5 
3.5 
3.6 
3.7 
3.2 
3.6 
3.4 
3.0 
3.3 
3.0 
3.1 
3.3 

Lbs. 

1.66 
1.69 
1.72 
1.66 
.60 
.50 
.51 
.45 
.32 
.37 
.08 
.32 
.36 

Oz. 
........ 

13 

20 
27 
30 
32 
30 
32 
32 
32 

Lbs. 

25.9 
27.3 
26.3 
24.6 
23.6 
21.8 
21.2 
20.3 
23.4 
22.6 
19.8 
21.9 
21.3 

4.4 
.7 
.8 
.9 
.0 
.8 
.9 
5.0 
4.7 
4.6 
4.5 
4.2 
4.3 

Lbs. 

1.14 
1.29 
1.25 
1.19 
1.19 
1.04 
1.03 
1.01 
1.10 
1.03 
0.89 
0.91 
0.90 

Second,  week  

Third  week.     . 

Fourth  week 

Fifth  week  

Sixth  week  

Seventh  week 

Eighth  week 

Ninth  week  

Tenth  week  
Eleventh  week  
Twelfth  week  

1  Jahresber.  u.  Agr.  Chemie,  1894,  p.  482. 

2  Bui.  92. 


432  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  despite  the  addition  of  tallow  to  the  ration 
in  increasing  amount  up  to  two  pounds  per  cow  daily,  there  was 
the  normal  gradual  falling  oif  in  the  milk  flow,  the  percentage  of 
fat  in  the  milk  remaining  substantially  the  same.  With  cow  No.  2 
there  was  possibly  an  increase  of  three-tenths  or  four-tenths  of  one 
per  cent,  fat  for  a  time  succeeding  the  first  use  of  tallow;  there  was, 
however,  a  diminution  in  the  milk  flow,  so  that  the  total  fat 
secreted  was  increased  by  not  more  than  one-  tenth  of  a  pound 
daily,  and  even  this  increase  might  not  have  been  due  to  the  feed- 
ing of  tallow.  After  feeding  this  cow  tallow  four  weeks,  the  total 
fat  in  the  milk  had  fallen  below  the  amount  she  was  giving  at  the 
time  tallow  feeding  began.  Wing  concludes:  "  In  this  quite  ex- 
tended trial  there  has  been  no  increase  in  fat  in  the  milk  by  feed- 
ing tallow  to  the  cows  in  addition  to  a  liberal  grain  ration.  These 
results  were  obtained  with  ten  different  cows  of  two  breeds  of 
various  ages  in  various  periods  of  lactation,  extending  over  a 
period  of  ten  weeks,  for  at  least  six  of  which  they  ate  two  pounds 
per  head  per  day  of  tallow." 

At  the  New  Hampshire  Station,1  Wood  fed  cotton-seed  oil, 
palm  oil,  corn  oil,  cocoanut  oil,  oleo  oil  and  stearin  in  an  ordi- 
nary ration  to  cows,  and  concludes:  "That  the  first  effect  of  an 
increase  of  fat  in  the  cow's  ration  is  to  increase  the  per  cent,  of  fat 
in  the  milk;  that  with  the  continuance  of  such  a  ration  the  tend- 
ency is  for  the  milk  to  return  to  its  normal  condition;  that  the 
increase  in  fat  is  due  not  to  the  oils,  but  to  the  unnatural  char- 
acter of  the  ration." 

663.  Feeding  potassium  chlorid. —  Bieler2  fed  twenty-five  grams 
(about  one  ounce)  of  potassium  chlorid  per  day  per  cow,  and 
noticed  an  appreciable  increase  in  the  yield  of  milk,  but  the  solids 
and  fat  decreased  simultaneously.     The  effect  of  the  potassium 
chlorid  on  the  milk  secretion  covered  only  a  few  days,  when  it 
again  became  normal. 

664.  Cooking  feed. —  Spear3  fed  cooked  meal  to  four  cows  and 
uncooked  meal  to  four  others  during  a  period  of  thirteen  weeks. 
The  cows  receiving  the  cooked  feed  gave  six-tenths  of  a  pound  of 

*  Bui.  20. 

2  Hilger's  Jahresber.,  1893,  403. 

3  Trans.  High,  and  Agrl.  Soc.,  p.  1891. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows. 


433 


milk  more  per  day  than  those  getting  uncooked  feed,  with  no 
difference  in  the  quality  of  the  milk.  These  returns  do  not  pay 
for  the  labor  involved,  and  are  in  conformity  with  the  results 
obtained  with  other  farm  animals  when  given  cooked  feed.  (370, 
836) 

665.  Feeding  grain  in  form  of  slop. —  It  is  frequently  asserted 
that  sloppy  feeds  increase  the  milk  flow.  This  matter  was  tested 
by  Dean  at  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College. l  For  roughage  the 
cows  were  fed  silage  and  pasture;  for  concentrates,  two  pounds 
of  ground  wheat  and  four  pounds  of  bran.  The  results  appear 
below: 

Effect  of  wetting  the  feed   supplied  dairy   cows  —  Ontario  Station. 


Form  of  feed. 

Milk  yield, 
two-week 
periods. 

Per  cent, 
of  fat 
in  milk. 

Eight  cows. 
Fed  dry  feed 

Lbs. 
3  062 

3  96 

Fed  wet  feed  once  daily     

3,157 

3  82 

Fed  wet  feed  twice  daily  

2,940 

3  86 

Six  cows. 
Fed  dry  feed  

1,110 

3.60 

Fed  wet  noon  feed 

1  085 

3  63 

There  is  nothing  in  the  above  to  indicate  that  feeding  meal  in 
the  form  of  slop  induces  a  greater  flow  or  changes  the  character 
of  the  milk.  Dean's  conclusions  are,  "  This  experiment  would 
indicate  that  slopping  is  an  expensive  way  to  feed  cows." 

666.  Feeding  grain  to  cows  on  pasture. —  The  utility  of  feeding 
grain  to  cows  on  pasture  has  been  studied  at  the  Cornell  Station2 
during  several  seasons. 

In  the  first  trial  cows  receiving  grain  while  on  a  luxuriant  past- 
ure gave  less  milk,  but  an  equal  amount  of  fat,  with  those  getting 
no  grain  on  the  same  pasture. 

The  next  season,  with  the  pastures  luxuriant  except  for  a  short 
time  in  midsummer,  the  lot  receiving  grain  and  that  without 
grain  did  .equally  well. 

1  Repts.  1893-94. 
*  Buls.  13,  22,  36,  49. 
28 


434 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


In  the  third  trial  both  lots  were  soiled  with  grass,  one  lot  get- 
ting grass  only,  while  the  second  received  grain  in  addition.  In 
this  trial  the  grain-fed  cows  gave  just  enough  more  fat  to  pay  for 
the  grain  received. 

In  order  to  determine  the  value  of  grain  for  cows  on  pasture 
under  practical  conditions,  a  fourth  trial  was  conducted  with 
a  herd  of  cows  owned  by  a  New  York  farmer.  This  herd,  con- 
sisting of  sixteen  cows  which  had  been  lightly  fed  during  the 
winter,  was  divided  into  two  lots  of  eight  each,  all  grazing  in  the 
same  pasture.  Each  cow  of  Lot  I  was  fed  four  quarts  daily  of  a 
mixture  of  two  parts  corn  meal,  one  part  wheat  bran  and  one 
part  cotton-seed  meal,  by  weight.  The  test  began  May  23. 
August  10,  the  pastures  becoming  poor,  both  lots  were  fed  green 
fodder  corn.  On  September  9,  green  millet  was  substituted  for 
the  fodder  corn.  October  1,  meadow  grass  was  substituted  for 
the  millet,  and  this  was  followed  October  13  with  pumpkins  in 
generous  quantity.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  cows  getting  no 
grain  were  much  better  fed  than  those  on  most  farms.  The  find- 
ings of  the  trial,  which  lasted  twenty-two  weeks,  are  here  pre- 
sented: 

Feeding  grain  to  cows  on  pasture  —  Trial  by  Cornell  Station. 


Lot  I. 

Lot  II. 

Pasture 
with  grain. 

Pasture 
without  grain. 

5,200 

None. 

Milk  yield,  pounds  

22,629 

17,698 

Excess  in.  favor  of  Lot  I  pounds 

4  931 

Per  cent  excess 

28 

Grain  in  weight  per  cow  pounds 

166 

113 

Excess  in  favor  of  Lot  I  pounds        .... 

53 

Average  per  cent,  of  fat  in  milk       

4.67 

4  70 

Average  per  cent,  of  total  solids  in  milk. 

14.08 

14.19 

"We  learn  from  the  above  that  the  eight  cows  in  Lot  I  were  fed 
5,200  pounds  of  grain  and  gave  4,931  pounds  or  28  per  cent,  more 
milk  than  those  getting  no  grain.  Both  lots  gained  in  weight, 
Lot  I  leading  by  fifty-three  pounds  on  the  average  for  each  cow. 
The  use  of  grain  did  not  change  the  composition  of  the  milk. 


Station  Tests  with  Feeds  for  Dairy  Cows.  435 

Bemembering  that  this  trial  was  conducted  011  a  New  York  dairy 
farm,  we  are  taught  that  even  when  the  midsummer  and  fall 
shortage  in  pasture  is  overcome  by  the  use  of  fodder  corn,  pump- 
kins, etc.,  the  result  of  feeding  grain  is  to  secure  about  one  pound 
of  milk  extra  for  each  pound  of  grain  fed.  (555) 

667.  Residual  effects  of  grain  feeding. —  The  following  year  the 
herd  was  turned  to  pasture  as  usual,  no  grain  being  supplied  to 
either  lot.  Beginning  April  1  a  record  was  kept  of  milk  yields. 
Six  cows  in  each  lot  of  the  previous  year  still  remained  upon  the 
farm.  Their  yield  of  milk  for  six  months  was  as  follows: 

Lot  I.         Lot  II. 

Fed  grain  Fed  no  grain 

previous  year,  previous  year,    j 

Average  yield  per  cow,  six  months,  pounds 3,440  2,960 

In  favor  of  Lot  I,  pounds 480  ........ 

Per  cent,  in  favor  of  Lot  1 16  

j 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  cows  in  Lot  I  averaged  480  pounds  of 
milk,  or  16  per  cent,  more  than  those  in  Lot  II.  Commenting 
on  this,  Eoberts  writes:  "It  seems  reasonable  to  assume  that  this 
increased  production  was  due  to  the  grain  fed  the  preceding  year, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  younger  animals.  Indeed  it  was 
plainly  evident  that  the  grain-fed  two-year-olds  and  three-year- 
olds  developed  into  better  animals  than  their  stable  mates  having 
no  grain.77 

At  the  Kansas  Station,1  Shelton,  when  feeding  from  11.5  to 
12.5  pounds  of  corn  meal,  bran  or  oats  daily  to  cows  on  "ample 
pasturage,  consisting  for  the  most  part  of  orchard  grass  and  red 
clover,"  found  an  increase  in  milk  flow,  due  to  the  grain  fed, 
varying  from  16  to  31  per  cent. ;  yet  this  increase  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  directly  pay  for  the  extra  feed  supplied. 

At  the  North  Dakota  Station, 2  Kaufman  fed  bran  and  shorts 
to  cows  grazing  on  a  pasture  of  mixed  tame  grasses  and  clover, 
other  cows  in  the  same  pasture  receiving  no  grain.  The  results 
show  only  about  6  per  cent,  increase  in  the  yield  of  fat  because 
of  the  grain  fed.  The  cows  getting  grain  increased  in  weight 
more  than  the  others,  but  the  combined  results  were  too  small 
to  pay  for  the  grain  fed. 

i  Kept.  1888.  2  Bui.  16. 


436  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

These  findings  coincide  with  those  obtained  when  feeding  grain 
to  steers  on  pasture.  (555)  From  all  the  evidence  at  hand  we 
may  conclude  that  where  pastures  are  luxuriant  there  are  no 
profits  from  feeding  cows  grain;  where  there  is  not  ample  feed  the 
increased  milk  returns  will  certainly  compensate  for  the  grain  or 
green  forage  fed.  The  possible  residual  effect  of  feeding  cows  on 
pasture,  as  pointed  out  by  Roberts,  is  important  and  should  not 
be  overlooked.  Where  pastures  are  short,  unless  green  forage 
or  grain  is  fed  to  cows  the  milk  flow  will  decrease,  and  later, 
should  the  pastures  revive,  it  will  be  found  almost  impossible  to 
bring  the  milk  yield  back  to  the  normal.  The  increase  in  value 
of  the  droppings  from  grain-fed  cows  should  also  be  considered, 
and  will  often  prove  the  turning  point  in  favor  of  a  reasonable 
use  of  grain,  especially  kinds  rich  in  fertilizing  elements. 


CHAPTEE  XXVI. 

INFLUENCE  OF  FEED  ON  MILK  —  WIDE  AND  NARROW  RATIONS. 
I.  Feed  in  Relation  to  Milk. 

668.  Possible  modifications  of  milk  by  feed. —  If  feed  has  any 
influence  on  the  character  of  milk,  we  may  suppose  these  modifi- 
cations will  take  one  or  more  of  the  following  forms: 

(a)  An  increase  or  decrease  in  the  total  quantity  of  milk  yielded. 
(6)  Increasing  or  decreasing  the  ratio  of  solids  to  water  in  the 
milk. 

(c)  Changing  the  ratio  of  one  or  more  components  of  the  milk 
with  relation  to  the  others. 

(d)  Changing  the  chemical  or  physical  character  of  one  or  more 
components. 

{e}  Changing  the  flavor  or  odor  of  milk  or  derivatives  from  it. 
Let  us  consider  these  several  possible  changes  in  the  order  pre- 
sented. 

(a)  Effect  of  Feed  on  Quantity. 

669.  Liberal  and  meager  rations. —  Most  dairymen  have  learned 
that  under  liberal  feeding  the  dairy  cow  is  stimulated  to  the  best 
niilk  returns  within  her  capacity.     So  generous  is  the  cow  in 
this  particular  that  dairymen  will  concede  they  rarely  supply 
their  animals  sufficient  feed  to  induce  the  largest  flow  of  milk 
possible  with  all  members  of  the  herd.     With  scant  rations  or 
those  of  faulty  character,  the  normal  milk  flow  of  the  cow  is 
diminished,  though  she  will  still  yield  this  fluid  for  a  time  while 
undergoing  starvation.     Milk  being  designed  for  the  support  of 
the  young,  Nature  has  provided  for  its  supply  to  the  limit  of  ani- 
mal endurance. 

670.  Influence  of  character  of  ration. —  The  abundance  and  pro- 
portion of  the  several  nutrients  in  the  ration  and  the  quantity  of 
inert  matter  it  contains  may  affect  the  flow  of  milk.     This  is  il- 


438 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


lustrated  by  an  experiment  at  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College1 
by  Dean,  in  which  six  cows  were  divided  into  three  lots  of  two 
each.  One  ration  consisted  exclusively  of  coarse  feed,  supplying 
more  carbohydrates  and  less  protein  than  the  cow  required.  It 
contained  a  large  quantity  of  inert  matter.  ( 136 )  The  next  ration 
contained  an  ample  supply  of  carbohydrates  and  an  over-supply 
of  protein,  the  latter  being  contained  in  rich,  heavy  oil  meals. 
The  third  ration  was  a  normal  one.  By  alternating  the  rations 
for  the  three  groups  of  cows,  the  influence  of  a  decreasing  milk 
flow  was  eliminated  from  the  results,  which  were  as  follows: 

Feeding  an  improperly  compounded  and  a  well  balanced  ration  to  dairy 
cows  —  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 


Ration. 

Total 
digesti- 
ble mat- 
ter. 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Av.  live 
weight. 

Daily 
yield  of 
milk. 

Fat. 

A.  Silage  50  Ibs.,  hay  6  Ibs., 
bran  5  Ibs  

Lbs. 
10  79 

1:84 

Lbs. 
1,068 

Lbs. 
29.7 

Per  ct. 

3.82 

I.  Silage  30  Ibs.,  oat  straw 
20  Ibs  hay  10  Ibs  

15  89 

1  :25.6 

1,014 

21.8 

3.67 

II.  Hay  20  Ibs.,  oil  meal  4 
Ibs.,  cotton-seed  meal 
51bs  

14.76 

1  :3.9 

1,091 

29.3 

3.49 

III.  Hay  20  Ibs.,  pea  meal  4 
Ibs.,  oat  meal  5  Ibs., 
corn  meal  8  Ibs 

20.27 

1:68 

1,110 

31.8 

3.25 

Under  A  is  given  the  preliminary  ration  fed  to  all  the  cows; 
with  this  there  was  an  average  daily  milk  yield  of  29.7  pounds. 
When  ration  I  was  fed  the  cows  dropped  to  21.8  pounds  of  milk. 
In  this  ration  we  find  a  liberal  allowance  of  carbohydrates  with 
too  little  protein  and  too  much  inert  matter.  Though  the  cows 
were  filled  with  feed  they  were  poorly  nurtured.  Under  II  there 
was  abundant  nutrition,  but  the  oil  meals  given  were  heavy  in 
character  and  too  liberal  in  quantity  for  the  best  results  though 
the  milk  flow  was  increased  to  nearly  the  normal.  With  III  we 
have  a  better  balanced  ration;  the  cows  were  over-fed,  but  the 
better  character  of  the  ration  secured  larger  returns  than  were 
possible  under  previous  feeding,  the  amount  of  milk  now  reach- 

i  Rept.  1891. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  Milk.  439 

ing  31.  &  pounds  daily.  It  is  evident  that  the  character  and  quan- 
tity of  feed  given  directly  affect  the  flow  of  milk,  and  over-feed- 
ing or  the  use  of  improperly  compounded  rations  may  bring  poor 
results  as  well  as  under- feeding. 

(&)  Increasing  or  Decreasing  the  Eatio  of  Solids  to  Water  in  Milk. 

671.  Influence  of  succulent  feed. —  It  is  commonly  asserted  that 
succulent  feed  causes  thinner  milk,  i.  e.,  renders  it  more  watery. 
Schmoeger, l  at  the  Proskau  Dairy  Institute,  showed  that  feeding 
30  liters  (quarts)  of  distillery  slop  daily  per  head  to  a  herd  of 
37  cows  did  not  affect  the  composition  of  milk,  the  average  solids 
being  11.83  per  cent,  and  fat  3.29  per  cent,  with  the  slop  feeding 
as  against  11.61  per  cent,  and  3.28  per  cent.,  respectively,  during 
the  previous  period. 

Trials  by  Armsby,  feeding  green  and  dried  grass  to  milch  cows, 
showed  no  change  in  the  composition  of  the  milk  because  of  the 
more  succulent  grass.  (265)  In  the  Danish  experiments,  where 
roots  were  fed,  the  highest  per  cent,  of  solids  appeared  in  the  milk 
of  cows  receiving  the  largest  quantity  of  roots.  (657) 

672.  Influence  of  pasture. —  The  effect  of  pasture  on  the  com- 
position of  milk  should  here  receive  consideration.     The  Copen- 
hagen Station2  conducted  trials  with  240  cows  for  two  years.     The 
per  cent,  of  fat  in  the  milk  of  these  cows,  when  stall-fed  with  dry 
feed  and  when  on  pasture,  was  as  follows: 

Lot  A.  Lot  B.  Lot  C. 

Stall  feeding,  dry  feed....  3.27  per  cent.  3.25  per  cent.  3.26  per  cent. 
Pasture 3.40  per  cent.  3.39  per  cent.  3.39  per  cent. 

There  was  a  slightly  higher  fat  content  with  cows  on  pasture  in 
all  cases. 

At  the  Vermont  Station, 3  Hills,  studying  the  change  in  com- 
position of  milk  of  cows  changed  from  barn  to  pasture  during 
five  years,  concludes:  "The  evidence  appears  overwhelming  that 
cows  on  early  pasturage  —  May  and  June  —  make  not  only  more, 
but  richer,  milk  than  during  the  last  months  of  their  barn  life." 
In  these  cases  the  higher  fat  content  is  always  accompanied  by  a 

1  Milch  Zeit.,  1883,  129. 

2  Kept.  27,  1891-92. 
8  Kept.  1893. 


440  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

higher  percentage  of  total  solids;  that  is,  the  milk  from  the  past- 
ure contains  less  water. 

Sebelien1  calls  attention  to  similar  changes  in  the  composition 
of  milk  produced  by  Norwegian  cows  while  on  mountain  pastures 
as  compared  with  that  produced  in  the  valleys. 

Conclusions  are  not  uniform  in  this  particular,  as  shown  by  the 
findings  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert,2  who  write:  "The  yield  of  milk 
was,  however,  in  a  much  greater  degree  increased  by  grazing 
than  by  any  other  change  in  the  food;  and  with  us,  at  any  rate, 
the  influence  of  roots  comes  next  in  order  to  that  of  grass, 
though  far  behind  it,  in  this  respect.  But  with  grazing,  as  has 
been  shown,  the  percentage  composition  of  the  milk  is  consider- 
ably reduced;  though,  owing  to  the  greatly  increased  quantity 
yielded,  the  amount  of  constituents  removed  in  the  milk  whilst 
grazing  may,  nevertheless,  be  greater  per  head  per  day  than 
under  any  other  conditions. " 

With  such  conflict  of  opinion  may  we  not  agree  with  Sebelien, 
who  suggests  that  the  general  feeling  of  well-being,  the  influence 
of  sunlight,  the  pleasant  spring  weather  and  an  outdoor  life  have 
more  to  do  with  the  change  produced,  whether  the  fat  is  increased 
or  decreased  percentagely,  than  does  the  change  in  feed  itself. 

"With  the  coming  of  spring,  the  cows  that  have  long  been  con- 
fined to  their  quarters  in  the  stable  find  life  irksome;  the  rough- 
age at  this  time  becomes  dry  and  loses  in  aroma  and  palatability. 
Then,  too,  the  animals  are  shedding  their  coats.  These  factors 
combine  against  normal  milk  production  in  the  last  days  of  con- 
finement, and  make  the  contrast  of  pasture  life  with  its  succulent 
feed  all  the  more  marked. 

673.  Watery  feed  does  not  necessarily  make  watery  milk. —  Be- 
viewing  the  subject  broadly,  we  may  conclude  that  succulent  feeds 
have  no  deleterious  effect  upon  the  composition  of  milk;  on  the 
other  hand,  in  many  cases  they  may  have  a  beneficial  influence. 
It  is  entirely  possible  that  such  highly -diluted  feeds  as  distillery 
slops,  beet  chips  and  wet  brewers'  grains,  when  fed  in  abnormal 
quantities  for  long  periods,  may  prove  prejudicial,  though  we  can 
point  to  no  definite  experiments  showing  such  results. 

*Tidskr.  f.  n.  Landbr.,  II,  208.  2  Jour.  Eoy.  Agrl.  Soc.,  1895. 


Influence  of  Feed  on  Milk.  441 

(c)  Changing  One  or  More  Components  of  the  Milk. 

674.  Opinions  and  early  experiments. —  In  the  whole  realm  of 
dairying  no  subject  arises  so  frequently  for  discussion  as  the  in- 
fluence of  feed  on  the  amount  of  fat  in  milk.  Though  the  Bab- 
cock  test  is  fast  clearing  away  uncertainties,  many  dairymen  still 
hold  that  certain  feeds  or  feed  combinations  cause  the  cow  to  pro- 
duce milk  richer  or  poorer  in  fat  than  the  normal.  Scientists, 
too,  have  been  divided  on  this  question,  some  holding  with  the 
practical  dairymen,  so  called,  while  others  urge  that  the  results 
of  investigations  do  not  warrant  their  position. 

In  1869  Kiihn1  wrote:  "The  system  of  feeding  is  one  of  sec- 
ondary importance  for  milk  production;  the  yield  of  milk  is 
primarily  dependent  on  the  development  or  productive  capacity 
of  the  milk  glands  of  each  cow,  and  even  with  changes  from 
light  to  heavy  feed  the  supply  does  not  increase  in  proportion  to 
the  nutrients  supplied.  The  same  holds  true  where  the  farmer 
aims  to  increase  any  single  component  of  the  milk,  as  fat,  since 
it  is  not  possible  to  attain  a  one-sided  increase  of  this  or  any  other 
component  in  the  milk  by  changes  in  the  system  of  feeding.  No 
such  changes  can,  at  any  rate,  be  reached  as  are  of  practical  im- 
portance. " 

The  author  of  the  above,  however,  in  1874-77  conducted  trials2 
in  which  palm-nut  meal  in  particular,  and  also  malt  sprouts,  pea- 
nut meal  and  cotton-seed  meal,  when  fed  to  dairy  cows,  appeared 
to  have  an  influence  on  the  quality  of  milk,  the  fat  content  being 
increased.  Usually  these  experiments  were  made  with  single 
cows  and  the  feeding  periods  were  of  short  duration,  thus  giving 
the  immediate  influence  of  a  change  of  feed  undue  prominence. 
In  later  experiments  with  palm-nut  meal,  where  all  the  necessary 
precautions  were  taken,  the  later  conclusions  of  Kiihn  were  not 
substantiated. 

Numerous  investigations,  direct  and  indirect,  on  this  point 
have  been  conducted  at  American  Stations,  a  reference  to  which, 
even,  would  occupy  too  much  space.  The  most  marked  example 
of  seeming  change  in  composition  through  feed  influence  was  by 

1  Landw.  Vers.  Sta.,  12,  p.  441. 

2  Jour.  f.  Landw.,  1874r-77. 


4*42  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Patrick,  at  the  Iowa  Station,1  where  .58  per  cent,  more  fat  was 
found  in  the  milk  of  cows  getting  sugar  meal  than  was  found  in 
the  milk  of  the  same  cows  when  fed  corn  and  cob  meal.  Amer- 
ican findings  do  not  generally  show  any  marked  permanent  change 
in  the  fat  content  of  milk  brought  about  by  feed;  indeed,  when 
Patrick2  again  fed  sugar  meal,  only  a  slight  difference  was  found 
in  its  favor,  some  cows  giving  adverse  results.  We  may  conclude 
in  this  case,  then,  that  these  results  were  accidental,  or  rather 
that  they  were  due  to  other  than  the  assigned  cause. 

675.  Danish  experiments. —  The  experiments  with  cows  by  the 
Copenhagen  Station3  furnish  reliable  data  on  this  important  sub- 
ject, because  of  the  large  number  of  animals  employed  and  the 
character  of  the  feeds  supplied.     Friis,  treating  of  this  subject, 
writes:    "In  the  comparative  feeding  trials  with  milch  cows  now 
conducted  for  several  years  by  this  Station,  in  which  1,639  cows 
have  been  included  (separated  into  161  lots  on  ten  estates  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  our  country),  it  has  been  repeatedly  found  that 
the  changes  made  in  the  feed  of  the  lots  have  practically  had 
no  influence  on  the  chemical  composition  of  the  milk.     In  these 
experiments  grain  has  been  fed  against  roots,  against  oil  cake, 
and  against  wheat  bran  or  shorts;  grain  and  oil  cake  have  been 
fed  against  roots,  or  roots  have  been  fed  as  additional  food.'7 

676.  Possible  exceptions. —  It  is  possible  that  a  cow  which  has 
long  been  illy  nurtured  and  is  in  poor  condition  will  give  milk 
abnormally  low  in  fat,  and  that  the  milk  will  increase  in  richness 
of  fat  with  increased  feed  supply  and  the  approach  of  the  body 
to  normal  conditions.     When  a  cow  is  fed  a  starvation  ration  the 
milk  may  be  richer  or  poorer  in  fat  than  the  normal,  the  quantity 
decreasing  rapidly.     There  is  little  known  that  is  definite  or  sat- 
isfactory on  these  points. 

(d)  Changes  in  Character  or  Composition  of  One  or  More  of  the 
Components  of  Milk. 

677.  Effect  of  feed  on  composition  of  butter-fat. —  It  is  gener- 
ally agreed  that  feed  affects  in  some  way  the  character  of  the 
fat  of  milk,  which  is  shown  practically  by  the  varying  character 

*  Bui.  14.  2  Bui.  15,  Iowa  Sta.  8  Kept.  1894. 


Influence  of  Peed  on  Milk.  443 

of  butter.  A  number  of  investigators  have  studied  the  vari- 
ations in  hardness,  melting  point,  volatile  fatty  acids,  etc.,  of 
butter-fat,  due,  it  is  generally  supposed,  to  the  different  feeding 
stuffs  employed  in  nurturing  the  cow.  While  each  investigator 
has  arrived  at  certain  conclusions  seemingly  warranted  by  the 
trials  he  has  conducted,  on  classification  these  findings  show  little 
agreement,  so  that  Frear, J  studying  all  the  available  data,  was 
forced  to  write:  "They  do  not,  however,  suffice  either  for  the 
framing  of  a  theory  as  to  the  relation  of  the  several  food  constit- 
uents to  the  fats  of  the  milk,  or  for  the  quantitative  measure  of 
the  influence  of  a  given  food." 

As  with  scientists,  so  with  practical  feeders, —  we  can  find  them 
stating  with  much  assurance  that  this  or  that  particular  feed  has 
this  or  that  influence  on  the  character  of  the  butter  made  while 
feeding  it;  when  we  classify  these  opinions,  however,  we  find 
them  discordant  and  standing  in  opposition  on  the  same  article. 

As  to  cotton- seed  meal  there  is  fairly  uniform  agreement  that 
it  makes  a  hard  butter;  while  often  deleterious,  therefore,  it  may 
be  useful  in  firming  butter  required  for  the  summer  trade.  (For 
the  influence  of  cotton- seed  meal  on  butter  see  Article  217. )  The 
changes  in  the  quality  of  butter  due  to  length  of  time  from  calv- 
ing are  generally  greater  than  those  wrought  by  any  special  sys- 
tem of  feeding.  As  originally  shown  by  Nilson, 2  fat  from  fresh 
cows  contains  a  larger  amount  of  volatile  fatty  acids  than  is  found 
at  any  later  stage  of  the  lactation  period;  as  a  result,  butter 
from  such  cows  has  a  high  flavor,  comparatively  speaking,  while 
that  from  strippers  is  deficient  in  flavor  and  of  Jallowy  consist- 
ence. 

(e)  Feed  Influences  on  Flavor  and  Odor  of  MUk  or  Its  Derivatives. 

678.  Flavors  of  milk,  butter,  etc. —  Besides  the  variations  already 
referred  to  which  are  supposably  measurable  by  the  chemist, 
there  are  immeasurable  ones  which  may  exert  a  potent  influence 
on  the  quality  of  milk  and  its  products,  these  being  perceived  by 
the  sense  of  taste  or  smell — usually  by  the  former.  Certain  articles 
eaten  by  cows  —  leeks,  onions,  turnips,  etc. — give  flavors  detected 
.  Science,  1893.  *  Kgl.  Landtbruks  Ak.  Handl.,  1885,  45. 


444  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

by  the  majority  of  persons  using  milk.  Eye,  when  pastured, 
gives  an  unpleasant  flavor  to  milk,  not  detected  by  all,  but  by 
many.  Grass  has  a  marked  effect  on  the  flavor  of  butter,  de- 
tected by  all  in  spring  when  the  cows  are  first  changed  from  dry 
feed  to  pasture.  This  flavor  is  soon  unnoticed,  but  whether  it 
really  disappea-rs,  or  is  unobserved  because  of  familiarity  brought 
about  by  daily  use,  is  an  open  question.  The  intensity  of  flavors 
and  odors  in  milk  originating  from  certain  feeds  probably  varies 
with  different  cows,  the  milk  of  some  showing  these  faults  in  a 
more  marked  degree  than  others.  Often  odors  and  flavors  in 
milk  charged  to  the  cow  are  due  to  contamination  of  the  milk 
after  it  is  drawn  and  while  left  in  the  stable  or  elsewhere. 

679.  A  review  of  the  subject. —  Eeviewing  the  matter,  it  seems 
from  the  data  at  hand  that  it  is  possible  to  vary  the  composition 
of  cow's  milk  for  short  periods  by  marked  changes  in  the  character 
of  the  feed  supplied,  there  being  an  increase  of  one  or  two-tenths 
of  one  per  cent,  of  fat  when  feeds  rich  in  protein  are  given, 
though  sometimes  the  change  is  the  other  way.  The  extensive 
Danish  investigations  conclusively  show  that  the  dairy  farmer 
cannot  hope  to  measurably  increase  the  percentage  of  fat  in  his 
milk  by  any  practicable  system  of  feeding. 

It  is  remarkable  that  dairymen  have  so  generally  held  an  er- 
roneous opinion  regarding  the  ability  of  feed  to  permanently  af- 
fect the  quality  of  milk.  They  have  doubtless  been  led  into  this 
error  because  with  any  marked  improvement  of  the  ration  for  the 
cow  there  has  always  come  a  larger  flow  of  milk,  and  consequently 
a  larger  total  amount  of  fat.  It  would  appear  that  the  variations 
in  the  fat  percentage  of  milk  are  oftener  brought  about  by  nervous 
influences  than  through  the  character  of  the  feed  supplied.  Even 
the  variations  found  when  first  changing  to  new  rations  may  be  a 
nervous  rather  than  a  feed  effect,  thus  explaining  why  the  change 
is  but  temporary. 

When  the  function  of  milk  is  considered,  the  view  here  held  as 
to  its  stability  of  composition  seems  rational.  If  the  milk  of  the 
dam  were  subject  to  marked  or  violent  fluctuations,  varying  in 
composition  with  every  small  change  in  quantity  or  quality  of 
food-supply,  the  welfare  of  the  young  animal  receiving  it  would 


Influence  of  Wide  and  Narrow  Eations.  445 

be  constantly  threatened.  Kature  has  wisely  provided  that  this 
vital  food  shall  remain  quite  constant  in  composition  so  far  as 
nutritive  influences  are  concerned,  though  the  quantity  must  vary 
with  the  abundance  or  scantiness  of  the  feed  supplied. 

It  is  not  apparent  why  nervous  impulses  should  affect  the  com- 
position of  milk  so  readily  while  feed  does  not.  It  appears  that 
the  milk  glands  are  under  nervous  control,  and  whatever  threatens 
the  existence  of  the  dam  or  her  young,  or  mars  her  equanimity, 
is  immediately  reflected  in  the  milk  secretion. 

680.  Conclusion. —  The  dairyman  who  wishes  to  improve  the 
quality  of  his  milk  must  look  to  breed  rather  than  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  feed.  Within  the  breed  he  must  select  those  animals 
shown  by  the  fat  test  to  yield  high  percentages  of  the  desired  in- 
gredient. Securing  suitable  animals,  he  will  reach  the  quantity 
of  fat  sought  by  supplying  his  cows  with  rations  ample  in  quan- 
tity, rich  in  digestible  components  and  altogether  palatable  and 
wholesome. 


II.   Wide  and  Narrow  Eations. 

681.  Storrs  Station  studies. —  The  Storrs  (Connecticut)  Station 
is  conducting  an  important  investigation  in  relation  to  the  cost  of 
nutrients  supplied  dairy  cows  and  the  milk  and  butter  returns. 
A  representative  of  the  Station  is  located  with  a  chosen  dairy- 
man for  a  period  of  twelve  days,  during  which  time  he  weighs 
the  feed  and  milk  of  each  cow  of  the  herd,  sending  samples  to  the 
Station  for  analysis.  From  the  results  of  the  analyses  and  the  re- 
ports of  the  representative,  the  Station  authorities  formulate  a  new 
ration,  presumed  by  them  to  be  superior  to  that  being  fed.  After 
the  new  ration  has  been  used  for  a  time,  the  herd  is  again  visited, 
the  representative  remaining  twelve  days,  as  before,  to  study  the 
effects  of  the  ration.  In  every  instance  narrower  rations  have 
been  substituted  for  the  original,  showing  that  the  Station  finds  the 
dairyman  not  feeding  liberally  enough  of  protein,  according  to  its 
understanding  of  the  needs  of  the  cow.  (147-8)  Under  this  sys- 
tem nine  herds  have  been  studied  by  the  Station  authorities.  The 
nutrients  of  the  rations  found  on  the  first  visit,  and  those  used 


446 


Feed*  and  Feeding. 


later  upon  recommendation  of  the  Station,  are  given  in  the  fol- 
lowing table: 

Rations  fed  by  Connecticut  dairymen  and  those  adopted  by  them  on 
recommendation  of  the  Storrs  Station. 


Av. 
wt. 
per 
cow. 

Kation  fed. 

Digesti- 
ble pro- 
tein. 

Calor- 
ies. 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Av.  of  nine  rations  originally  fed  by  Con- 
necticut farmers  

Lbs.  . 
750 

750 

,    Lbs. 
1.68 

2.17 

26,650 
25,900 

1  :7.5 
1  :5.6 

Av.  of  nine  rations  adopted  by  farmers 
on  recommendation  of  Storrs  Station.. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  change  is  mainly  in  supplying  more 
protein  in  the  ration,  thus  narrowing  the  nutritive  ratio.  The 
dairymen  found  by  following  the  Station's  advice  that  they  were 
able  to  effect  a  saving  in  feed  cost  of  about  six  cents  per  hundred 
pounds  of  milk  and  two  cents  for  each  pound  of  butter  produced. 

682.  Influence  of  feed  prices  on  economy  of  rations. —  The  best 
ration  for  Connecticut  dairymen,  or  the  most  scientifically  com- 
pounded, may  not  be  the  most  satisfactory  for  Western  conditions, 
because  of  difference  in  price  for  leading  feed-stuffs,  for  at  the 
West  the  carbohydrates  are  lower  priced  relatively  than  in  the 
East.  To  illustrate  this  point  let  us  calculate  the  cost  of  milk 
and  butter  for  feed  consumed,  based  on  the  different  conditions. 
In  the  following  table  is  given  the  Connecticut  prices  reported  by 
the  Station  and  average  Western  prices  for  common  feeding- stuffs: 

Prices  for  feeding  stuffs  used  in  the  Connecticut  feeding  trials  and 
those  prevailing  in  the  dairy  district  of  the  West. 


Kind  of  feed. 

Con- 
necti- 
cut. 

West- 
ern. 

Kind  of  feed. 

Con- 
necti- 
cut. 

West- 
ern. 

Concentrates. 
Wheat  bran  

$13-19 

$12 

Roughage. 
Hay  1st  quality 

$16  00-18 

$8  00 

Corn  meal  . 

14-21 

12 

12  00 

6  00 

Corn  and  cob  meal  

16-20 

12 

Hay  clover 

14  00 

8  00 

Cotton-seed  meal.  .    . 

21  26 

23 

Oat  hay 

12  00-14 

8  00 

Linseed  meal  (O.  P.)  

22-30 

20 

Bog  hay 

8  00 

3  00 

18-25 

18 

Corn  silage 

2  50 

2  00 

Gluten  feed  

14-19 

14 

Corn  fodder 

10  00 

5  00 

Imperial  feed  (wheat)... 

18 

18 

Corn  stover 

8  00 

4  00 

Wheat  middlings  

14-20 

13 

Oat  straw 

10  00 

3  00 

Malt  sprouts......  

14 

12 

12  00 

8  00 

Potatoes,  small,  per  bu.. 

•     10 

10 

Influence  of  Wide  and  Narrow  Rations. 


447 


With  these  prices  for  feed  we  have  calculated  the  cost  of  pro- 
ducing 100  pounds  of  milk  and  one  pound  of  butter  with  the 
nine  herds  of  cows  used  in  the  Connecticut  investigations,  and 
find  the  result  as  follows: 

Cost  of  feed  for  producing  100  pounds  of  milk  and  one  pound  of 
butter  under  Connecticut  and  Western  conditions. 


Wide] 

ration. 

Narrow 

ration. 

Result 
narrow 

of  using 
y  ration. 

100  Ibs. 
milk. 

lib. 
butter. 

100  Ibs. 
milk. 

lib. 
butter. 

Milk. 

Butter. 

At  Co  n  n  e  c  t  i  c  u  t 
prices  for  feed  
At  Western  prices 
for  feed. 

Dollars. 

1.12 
629 

Cents. 

.21 
115 

Dollars. 

1.08 
689 

Cents. 

19.0 
12  3 

Cents. 

Saved 
6 
Lost 
6 

Cents. 

Saved 
2 

Lost 

a 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Connecticut  farmer  eifects  a  saving  of 
six  cents  on  a  hundred  pounds  of  milk  and  two  cents  on  a  pound 
of  butter  by  adopting  the  narrow  ration  recommended  by  the 
Station.  Were  the  Western  farmer  to  follow  the  Station' s  counsel, 
he  would  lose  six  cents  on  a  hundred  pounds  of  milk  and  eight- 
tenths  of  a  cent  on  a  pound  of  butter. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

PUBLIC  TESTS  OF  PURE-BRED  DAIRY  COWS  —  COST  OF  PRODUC- 
ING MILK  AND  FAT  IN  DAIRY  HERDS  AT  VARIOUS  EXPERI- 
MENT STATIONS. 

I.  Test  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,   Chicago,  1898. 

683.  Concerning  the  test. —  The  authorities  in  charge  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition,  Chicago,  1893,  in  co-operation 
with  representatives  of  the  various  dairy  and  cattle  breeders7  asso- 
ciations of  America,  planned  a  test  of  dairy  breeds  to  occur  dur- 
ing the  six  months  of  the  Exposition.  The  original  plan  embraced 
herds  of  animals  representing  all  the  leading  dairy  breeds.  Each 
herd  was  to  be  managed  by  the  association  entering  it,  account 
being  taken  of  all  feed  consumed  and  products  returned.  The 
general  supervision  of  the  cows  and  the  manufacture  of  the  milk 
was  in  charge  of  a  committee  representing  the  Association  of 
American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations  and 
representatives  of  the  breed  associations  participating  in  the  test. 
Commodious  stables  were  constructed,  silos  built  and  filled,  and 
a  large  dairy  building  erected.  The  outcome  was  the  entrance 
of  three  herds  of  twenty-five  cows  each  in  the  contest,  the  Jersey, 
Guernsey  and  Short-horn  breeds  being  represented.  The  data 
of  this  contest  are  said  to  fill  900  pages  of  record  books. l 

1  Most  unfortunately  the  official  records  of  this  test  have  never  been 
published  although  certain  summaries  have  been  given  to  the  public 
through  various  channels.  The  Association  of  Agricultural  Colleges,  in 
whose  charge  the  records  were  left,  has  offered  to  deposit  them  with  the 
Agricultural  Department  at  Washington,  where  doubtless  they  will  be 
available  for  reference  in  the  future.  For  reports  of  the  test,  see  numbers 
of  the  Breeder's  Gazette,  Chicago,  1890-1893,  inclusive.  The  most  complete 
summary  appears  in  Jersey  Bulletin,  Indianapolis,  Dec.  20,  1893.  An- 
other summary  was  published  by  James  Cheesman,  Southborough,  Mass., 
printed  originally  in  Journal  of  the  British  Dairy  Farmers'  Association, 
London,  1894-  also  in  pamphlet  form  by  the  author.  Another  summary 
was  published  in  pamphlet  form  by  Valancey  E.  Fuller,  Superintendent 
of  the  Jersey  herd  during  the  contest.  The  tables  here  presented  are 
from  the  Jersey  Bulletin  and  the  Cheesman  report. 


Public  Tests  of  Pure-bred  Dairy  Cows. 


449 


Only  the  briefest  summary  of  the  more  important  results  can 
be  here  presented,  but  these  should  prove  useful  to  dairy  students 
and  others,  the  accuracy  of  the  figures  being  unquestioned. 

684.  Prices  charged  for  feed. —  The  prices  charged  for  feed  con- 
sumed by  the  cows  during  the  contest,  fixed  by  the  chief  of  the 
Agricultural  Division  of  the  Exposition,  appear  in  the  table 
below: 

Prices  charged  per  ton  for  feed  consumed  by  cows —  Columbian  Dairy 

Contest. 


Cheese 
test. 

Ninety- 
day 
butter 
test. 

Thirty- 
day 
butter 
test. 

Heifer 
butter 
test. 

Timothy  hay  (mixed)  

$11  50 

$11  50 

Corn  meal             .                 

22  00 

22  00 

$22  00 

$22  00 

Cotton-seed  meal  

26  00 

26  00 

26  00 

26  00 

Linseed  meal  

22  00 

22  00 

22  00 

22  00 

Oats  

23  00 

23  00 

23  00 

23  00 

Middlings  

13  00 

13  00 

13  00 

13  00 

Bran... 

12  50 

12  50 

12  50 

12  50 

Clover  hay  ..         

11  00 

Silage  

4  00 

2  50 

1  50 

1  50 

Grano-gluten  

14  75 

14  75 

14  75 

Cream-gl  u  ten 

17  50 

17  50 

Corn  hearts 

13  50 

13  50 

13  50 

13  50 

Green  clover  

8  00 

Swale  grass  

1  00 

New  hay  

10  00 

10  00 

10  00 

Carrots  

8  00 

685.  Allowance  for  products. —  A  scale  of  prices  for  products 
was  also  fixed  by  the  Division  Chief,  that  for  cheese  ranging 
from  eight  to  sixteen  cents  per  pound,  according  to  the  score 
of  these  products  as  determined  by  expert  judges.  Whey  was 
rated  at  eight  cents  per  hundred  pounds.  In  the  butter  contests 
all  the  fat  produced  by  the  cows  was  calculated  as  butter  on  the 
basis  of  eighty  per  cent,  fat  in  the  butter.  The  price  allowed  for 
the  butter  was  forty-five  cents  or  less  per  pound,  depending  upon 
its  quality  as  scored  by  experts.  Solids  not  fat  in  the  skim  milk 
and  buttermilk  were  credited  at  two  cents  per  pound.  The  live 
weight  gained  by  the  cows  during  the  trial  was  rated  to  their 
credit  at  four  and  a  half  cents  per  pound. 
29 


450 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


686.  Description  of  the  tests. —  The  first  test  was  for  cheese 
production,  the  trial  beginning  May  12  and  continuing  fifteen 
days,  with  twenty-five  cows  in  each  herd. 

The  next  trial  was  for  the  production  of  butter,  with  credits  for 
butter,  solids  not  fat,  and  gains  in  live  weight.  There  were  twenty- 
five  cows  in  each  herd,  the  trial  beginning  June  1  and  continu- 
ing ninety  days.  ; 

The  third  trial,  beginning  August  30,  lasted  thirty  days,  there 
being  fifteen  cows  in  each  herd.  In  this  trial  butter  only  was 
credited. 

The  contest  ended  with  a  test  of  heifers,  lasting  twenty-one 
days, — fat,  solids,  and  live  weight  being  credited. 

Summaries  of  each  of  the  trials  are  presented  in  the  following 
tables: 

Cheese  test  May  12-86,  1893,  fifteen  days,  twenty -five  cows  in  each  herd. 


Breed. 

Price 
per  Ib. 
cheese. 

Value  of  products. 

Total 
cost  of 
feed. 

Total 
net 
gain. 

Cheese 

Whey. 

Live 
wt. 
gained 

Total. 

Jersey  

$  .1836 
.1195 
.1300 

$193  98 
1&5  22 
14014 

89  26 
7  73 
867 

$1472 
21  60 
31  91 

$21796 
164  55 
18072 

$98  14 
7625 
9936 

$119  82 
88  30 
81  36 

Guernsey 

Feed  Consumed. 


Breed. 

£ 

$ 

1 

A 

fil 

j 

i 

l-sl 

I 

3 
•d 

II 

w 

33 

O 

& 

a* 

m 

§ 

oga 

9 

S? 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Jersey  

3,395 
5  000 

3,840 
1,765 

370 

519 

2,391 
450 

600 
995 

2,204 
1,533 

450 
410 

1,106 
886 

1,667 

677 

Shortrhoi'n  

4,784 

5,978 

371 

519 

997 

1,194 

1,645 

382 

948 

Returns  from  Feed. 


Breed. 

1 

fi 

1 

I 

si 

C  0 

35 

O-H 

Jill 

Cost  of 
cheese 
per  Ib. 

gill 

Lbs. 

13,296.4 

Lbs. 

1,877.4 

Lbs. 
1,451.8 

Lbs. 
11,579 

Lbs. 
327 

Lbs. 
9.16 

$  .068 

$  .083 

Guernsey  
Short-horn....  

10,938.6 
12,186.9 

1,503.8 
1,544.3 

1,130.6 
1,077.6 

9,667 
10,839 

480 
709 

9.67 
11.31 

.067 
.092 

.078 
.076 

Public  Tests  of  Pure-bred  Dairy  Cows. 


451 


s 


II 


^H-* 

88 


M     ^" 


is 


02  bo 


Green 
clover. 


? 


Cream 
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455 


Best  cow  in  each  breed  in  the  several  tests,  World's  Columbian  Ex- 
position, Chicago,  1893. 

Cheese  test— Fifteen  days. 


Products. 

Value  of  products. 

Value 

Breed. 

d 

$ 

i 

Whey. 

Gain 
or  loss 
of  live 

Total. 

of  food 
eaten. 

gain. 

i 

0 

w 

weight 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Jersey,  Ida  Marigold 
Guernsey,  Sweet  Ada 
Short-horn,  Nora  

674 
535 
663 

70.9 
54.1 
60.7 

586.6 
472.7 
590.0 

$947 
647 

788 

$  .47 
.38 
.47 

$126 
1  67 
252 

$1120 

852 
1087 

$423 
325 
460 

$897 
527 
627 

Butter  test  — Ninety  days. 


Breed. 

1 

1 

Butter. 

Cost  of 
food. 

Live 
Wt. 

Credit. 

Debit. 

Net 
profit. 

Jersey,  Brown  Bessie  

Guernsey  Materna 

Lbs. 

3,634 
3  512 

Lbs. 

178 
153 

Lbs. 

217 
185 

$2551 
22  69 

Lbs. 

+  81 
-  13 

$9875 
81  11 

$2553 
23  28 

$7322 
5782 

Short-horn,  Nora.  

3,680 

134 

166 

24  11 

+115 

7680 

24  17 

5263 

Butter  test— Thirty  days. 


Breed. 

Butter. 

Credit 
sales. 

Debit 
food. 

Net 
profit. 

Lbs. 
72.24 

$33  27 

$8  57 

$24  «J 

Guernsey,  Purity  

54.80 

24  95 

5  58 

1938 

Short-horn,  Kitty  Clay  4th 

62.24 

28  53 

8  49 

20  Oi 

Heifer  test— Twenty-one  days. 


Breed. 

Milk. 

Butter. 

Value 
of  but- 
ter. 

Value 
of 
solids 
not  fat. 

Value 
of  live 
wt. 
gain- 
ed. 

Total 
credit. 

Cost  of 
food. 

Profit, 

Lbs. 
563 

Lbs. 
37.5 

$15  00 

$1  07 

$0  86 

$16  92 

$5  70 

$11  22 

Shortrhorn  

591   • 

26.1 

1044 

104 

351 

1499 

402 

1097 

II.  Experiment  Station  Breed  Tests. 

687.  Tests  at  the  Stations. —  Tests  of  pure-bred  dairy  cows 
covering  considerable  periods  of  time  have  been  conducted  at 
three  Experiment  Stations,  viz. :  New  York  (Geneva), 1  Maine, a 
and  New  Jersey. 3 

1  Eept.  1894.  *  Rept.  1890.  3  Kept.  1890. 


456 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  results  of  the  tests  with  each  breed  are  considered  in  the 
following  table: 

Trials  with  pure-bred  dairy  cows  at  three  American  Stations. 


Breed. 

No.  of 
cows. 

No.  of 
lacta- 
tion pe- 
riods. 

Average  yield 
per  year. 

Av. 

per 
cent, 
fat. 

Cost  of  — 

100  Ibs. 
milk. 

1  Ib.  fat. 
Cents. 

20.1 
20.2 
20.5 
16.1 
19.1 
16.1 
17.2 

25.2 
26.8 
20.4 

20.6 
15.3 
22.4 
17.9 
20.8 

Milk. 

Fat. 

New    York  Sta- 
tion. 
American  Hold- 
erness. 

2 
4 
3 
4 
4 
4 
1 

2 

2 
2 

4 
4 
3 
3 
3 

4 
12 
5 
6 
4 
11 
2 

3 
4 
4 

4 
4 
3 
3 
3 

Lbs. 

5,721 

6,824 
3,984 
5,385 
7,918 
5,045 
6,055 

8,369 
6,612 
5,460 

7,461 
7,446 
8,455 
7,695 
10,457 

Lbs. 

213.1 
244.8 
183.3 
285.5 
266.1 
282.1 
269.0 

285.0 
233.0 
297.0 

275.3 
379.0 
300.2 
376.3 
396.3 

3.73 
3.60 
4.60 
5.30 
3.36 
5.60 
4.44 

3.47 
3.67 
5,50 

3.69 
5.09 
3.55 
4.89 
3.79 

Cents. 

76.0 
74.0 
94.0 
86.0 
65.0 
90.0 
78.0 

85.5 
94.9 
113.0 

76.0 
78.1 
79.7 
87.5 
79.0 

Ayrshire 

Devon  

Guernsey  

Holstein  

Jersey  . 

Short-horn  . 

Maine  Station. 
Holstein  

Ayrshire  

Jersey  

New  Jersey  Sta- 
tion. 
Ayrshire      .... 

Guernsey  

Holstein  

Jersey  

Short-horn  

688.  Combining  the  results. —  To  secure  better  averages  the 
figures  last  presented  are  combined  in  the  following  table,  the 
cows  being  grouped  by  breeds: 

Summary  of  trials  with  pure-bred  dairy  cows  at  three  American  Stations. 


Breed. 

No.  of 
cows. 

No.  of 
lacta- 
tion pe- 
riods. 

Average  yield 
per  year. 

Av. 

per 
cent, 
fat. 

Cost  of  — 

100  Ibs. 
milk. 

1  Ib.  fat. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

American  Hold- 
erness. 

2 
10 
3 

8 

9 
9 
4 

4 
20 
5 
10 

10 
18 
5 

Lbs. 

5,721 

6,909 
3,984 
6,210 

8,215 
5,579 
8,696 

Lbs. 

213.1 

248.5 
183.3 
322.9 

282.0 
301.1 
345.4 

3.73 
3..  60 
4.60 
5.20 

3.43 
5.40 
3.97 

Cents. 

76.0 

78.5 
94.0 
82.8 

74.7 
94.7 

78.7 

Cents. 

20.1 
21.5 
20.5 
15.8 

21.5 
17.4 
19.4 

Ayrshire  

Devon  

Guernsey  

Holstein  -  Fries- 
ian  . 

Jersey     

Short-horn  

Station  Findings  with  Dairy  Herds.  457 

In  the  preceding  table  the  results  for  forty-five  pure-bred  cows 
carried  through  seventy-two  lactation  periods  are  reported.  The 
valuations  of  feed  stuffs  by  the  different  Stations  vary  somewhat, 
so  that  the  averages  are  not  strictly  correct  in  the  combinations  as 
made;  yet  it  is  believed  that  these  condensed  figures  are  on  the 
whole  in  the  best  form  for  comparative  study. 

III.  Station  Findings  with  Dairy  Herds. 

689.  The  Station  herds  reported. —  The  practical  dairyman  is 
interested  in  learning  the  results  of  operations  conducted  with 
dairy  herds  for  an  entire  year,  knowing  that  such  records,  when 
correctly  reported,  are  of  special  value.     Fortunately  we  are  able 
to  present  yearly  tests  at  four  widely-separated  Stations  to  aid 
those  interested  in  reaching  conclusions  as  to  the  cost  of  feed  re- 
quired in  producing  a  given  quantity  of  milk  and  fat. 

Wing,  of  the  Cornell  Station, l  reports  the  returns  from  a  herd 
of  twenty  cows,  mostly  Holstein  and  Jersey  grades.  Pure-bred 
and  grades  of  the  leading  dairy  breeds  constituted  the  herd  of 
twenty-three  cows  at  the  Minnesota  Station, 2  reported  by  Haecker. 
Soule  tells  of  the  returns  from  a  herd  of  twelve  cows  embracing 
Short-horns  and  Jerseys  at  the  Missouri  Station.3  The  fifteen 
cows  in  the  Utah  Station4  herd,  reported  by  Linfield,  were  com- 
mon animals  selected  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Station  by  means  of 
the  Babcock  test.  Of  course  the  cows  were  better  than  the 
average  in  the  vicinity. 

690.  Prices  allowed  for  feed. —  The  prices  for  feed  as  given 
below  are  those  assumed  by  the  Station  authorities  presenting 
the  data  of  the  herd  trials.     The  student  should  compare  these 
prices  with  those  ruling  about  him  for  feeding  stuffs  of  the  same 
class.     If  the  dairyman  wishes  to  compare  the  results  of  these 
trials  with  what  he  has  accomplished  with  his  own  herd  he  can 
do  so  without  difficulty  by  placing  that  value  on  each  feeding 
stuff  used  which  represents  its  selling  price  in  his  local  market. 
Naturally  the  prices  vary  considerably,  being  highest  in  New 
York  and  lowest  at  the  West. 


1  Bui.  52.  2  Bui.  35.  3  Bui.  26.  «  Bui.  43. 


458 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Prices  used  in  calculating  cost  of  producing  milk  and  fat  in  dairy 

herds  at  four  Stations. 
New  York.  Minnesota. 


Hay,  per  ton $9  00 

Silage,  per  ton 1  75 

Wheat  bran,  per  ton 18  00 

Oats,  per  bushel 35 

Cotton-seed  meal,  per  ton ...  25  00 

Corn  meal,  per  ton 2000 

Corn  stover,  per  ton 3  00 

Fresh  grass,  per  ton 1  75 

Roots,  per  ton 2  00 

Pasture,  per  week 30 


Missouri. 

Hay,  perton $6  00 

Corn  chop,  per  ton 16  00 

Oil  cake,  perton 20  00 

Cotton-seed  meal,  per  ton...  18  00 

Bran,  perton 12  00 

Pasture,  per  season 3  00 


Hay,  timothy,  perton $5  60 

Hay,  prairie,  per  ton 3  20 

Hay,  millet,  per  ton 5  60 

Silage,  perton 200 

Hay,  oat,  per  ton 4  80 

Com  meal,  per  ton 14  00 

Barley  meal,  per  ton 14  00 

Linseed  meal,  perton 26  00 

Oats,  per  ton 18  00 

Bran,  perton 11  00 

Mangels,  squashes,  per  ton..  2  00 

Pasture,  per  season 3  50 

Utah. 

Alfalfa  hay,  per  ton $3  75 

Mixed  hay,  per  ton 6  75 

Wheat,  perton 12  66 

Barley,  per  ton 15  00 

Bran,  perton 9  00 

Pasture,  per  month 1  00 


691.  Cost  of  milk  and  fat. —  From  the  data  collected  we  are 
able  to  learn  the  cost  of  feed  required  by  the  dairy  cow  in  pro- 
ducing one  hundred  pounds  of  milk  and  one  pound  of  fat  at  four 
widely-separated  American  Experiment  Stations,  the  data  being 
summarized  in  the  table  below: 

Cost  of  feed  required  in  the  production  of  one  hundred  pounds  of  milk 
and  (me  pound  of  fat,  by  months  —  Four  Stations. 


New  York. 

Minnesota. 

Missouri. 

Utah. 

Average. 

N,  umber  of  cows 

20 

l,1231bs. 
286  Ibs. 

23 

976  Ibs. 
301  Ibs. 

12 
990  Ibs. 
248  Ibs. 

15 
970  Ibs. 
222  Ibs. 

Average  weight  of  COWK 
Average  fat  per  cow     

Month. 

£x 

is 

,0 

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Q?  -+J 

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1 

Jj 

January  

8  .64 
.68 
.71 
.71 

58 

8  .17 

.18 
.18 
.18 
.145 
.075 
.095 
.155 
.125 
.105 
.175 
.155 

8  .65 
.67 
.67 
.71 
.59 
.32 
.37 
.51 
.51 
.60 
.68 
.65 

8  .149 
.151 
.165 
.162 
.132 
.076 
.078 
.114 
.106 
.140 
.159 
.164 

8  .94 
1.01 
1.21 
1.01 
.43 
.24 
.23 
.14 
.21 
.42 
.65 
1.03 

8  .240 
.253 
.299 
.234 
.096 
.053 
.053 
.033 
.052 
.098 
.153 
.265 

8  .56 

.62 
.59 
.49 
.48 
.15 
.19 
.21 
.26 
.38 
.59 
.63 

8  .138 
.160 
.142 
.121 
.113 
.038 
.049 
.051 
.066 
.091 
.135 
.143 

9  .68 
.72 
.76 
.71 
.54 
.26 
.31 
.42 
.41 
.47 
.65 
.71 

8  .168 
.179 
.187 
.171 
.125 
.064 
.072 
.098 
.094 
.112 
.157 
.174 

February               

March 

April  ... 

Mav 

June 

.28 
.38 
.65 
.51 
.41 
.65 
.63 

July  

August.  

September  . 

October  

November  

December 

Average  

8  .57 

8  .145 

$  .58 

8  .133 

8  .63 

$  .152 

8  .43 

8  .104 

8  .55 

8  .133 

Station  Findings  with  Dairy  Herds. 


459 


The  Kew  York  and  Minnesota  herds  evidently  contained  the 
most  carefully  selected  cows,  and  this  tended  to  reduce  the  cost  of 
milk  and  fat  production.  "We  observe  that  milk  and  fat  cost  the 
most  during  the  winter  months,  the  high  price  continuing  into 
March  in  Utah,  and  through  April  at  the  other  Stations.  In  May 
there  is  a  diminution  in  cost  at  all  Stations  except  Utah.  During 
June  at  three  of  the  Stations  the  milk  and  fat  reach  their  low- 
est cost  for  food  consumed,  the  cows  then  being  on  pasture.  In 
Missouri  the  lowest  price  was  reached  in  August  —  quite  contrary 
to  dairy  experience  in  most  states.  With  the  passing  of  summer 
comes  increased  cost,  until  by  November  winter  prices  have 
again  been  reached.  It  is  evident  from  these  figures  that  milk  of 
the  lowest  cost  is  produced  in  summer  on  pasture.  The  average 
cost  of  100  pounds  of  milk  at  the  four  Stations  for  the  year  is  55 
cents;  the  cost  of  one  pound  of  fat  is  13.3  cents. 

692.  Feed  consumed  by  the  dairy  cow,  yearly. —  The  data  pre- 
sented by  three  of  the  Stations  reporting  are  in  such  form  that  we 
can  determine  the  average  amount  of  feed  required  for  keeping  a 
dairy  cow  one  year,  the  cost  for  the  same  and  the  returns  in  milk 
and  fat  These  are  as  follows: 

Average  amount  of  feed  consumed  and  returns  for  feedy  per  year,  by 
dairy  cows  —  Three  Stations. 


Station. 

Feed  eaten  per  cow. 

Aver- 
age cost 
of  feed 
per  cow. 

Av.  returns 
per  cow,  per 
year. 

Past- 
ure. 

Concen- 
trates. 

Roughage. 

Bran,  grain, 
oil  meal,  etc. 

Roots,  sil- 
age, green 
fodder. 

Hay. 

Milk. 

Fat. 

Minnesota  .. 
Missouri  
Utah  

Days. 

131 
191 
123 

Lbs. 

3,435 
3,027 
1,534 

Lbs. 
5,306 

Lbs. 

2,029 
3,480 
4,301 

$37  82 
35  30 
22  28 

Lbs. 

6,408 
5,927 
5,655 

Lbs. 

301 

248 
230 

1,535 

We  learn  that  the  number  of  days  on  pasture  varied  from  123 
in  Utah  to  191  in  Missouri.  The  Minnesota  cows  consumed 
one  and  three-fourths  tons  of  concentrates  or  grain  feed  each,  over 
two  and  one-half  tons  of  roots  and  about  one  ton  of  hay.  At  the 


460 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


other  Stations,  with  a  smaller  allowance  of  concentrates,  there 
was  an  increase  in  hay  consumption.  The  average  cost  of  keep- 
ing a  cow  ranged  from  $22.28  in  Utah  to  $37.82  in  Minnesota. 
The  butter  returns  varied  from  230  to  301  pounds  and  the  milk 
from  5,655  to  6,408  pounds  per  cow. 

693.  Herd  record  for  one  year. —  We  turn  with  interest  to  a 
report  of  the  Station  herd  at  Cornell  University, l  where  the  cost 
of  feed  consumed  and  the  returns  from  each  cow  in  the  herd, 
twenty  in  number,  are  reported  separately.  "When  Prof.  Roberts 
took  charge  of  the  herd  in  1875  the  yield  of  milk  was  3,000  pounds 
per  cow;  now  descendants  of  these  cows  average  more  than  7,000 
pounds  of  milk  each.  The  prices  allowed  for  feeding  stuffs  con- 
sumed have  already  been  stated.  The  returns  from  the  twenty 
cows  are  given  in  the  following  table: 

Cost  of  feedj  milk  and  fat  as  determined  during  a  year's  trial  with  a 
herd  of  twenty  cows  —  Cornell  Station. 


No.  of  cow. 

Age. 

Cost  of 
feed  con- 
sumed 

Milk  pro- 

Cost  of 
100  IDS. 

Fat  pro- 

Cost  of 
one  Ib. 

Yrs.  Mos. 

during 
the  year. 

duced. 

of  milk. 

duced. 

of  fat. 

No.    1  

74- 

$44  24 

Lbs. 
8,028  50 

$0  55 

Lbs. 
391.62 

$0  115 

No.    2  

5         4 

47  65 

9,739.75 

49 

309.19 

15o 

No.    3  

3          5 

42  00 

4,743.25 

89 

233.63 

18 

No.    4.  

1          9 

49  07 

6,008.50 

82 

219.34 

225 

No    5. 

74- 

38  74 

6,214.50 

62 

326.68 

12 

No.    6. 

1        10 

41  24 

2,829  75 

1  48 

159.02 

26 

No.    7  

6          4 

52  06 

11,165.00 

47 

417.97 

125 

No.    8  

4 

39  96 

5,670.50 

70 

285.10 

14 

No.    9  

3 

36  24 

3,387.75 

1  07 

197.33 

185 

No.  10  

4          8 

46  51 

6,323.50 

74 

224.71 

21 

No  11. 

1          9 

43  80 

5,136  00 

85 

160.79 

27 

No.  12  

3          5 

43  66 

5,785.75 

75 

294.30 

15 

No.  13  

10          4 

44  34 

5,458.50 

81 

195.31 

225 

No.  14  

2          4 

45  98 

7,757.25 

59 

260.34 

175 

No  15 

3          4 

47  44 

9,003  25 

53 

299  07 

16 

No  16. 

6          4 

43  12 

9,776.50 

44 

330.59 

13 

No.  17  

7          3 

47  87 

10,417.00 

46 

302.93 

16 

No.  18  

3          4 

48  63 

7,955.00 

61 

282.35 

17 

No.  19  

74- 

53  38 

8,655.50 

62 

382.77 

14 

No  20. 

7+ 

49  08 

10,754  00 

46 

439.37 

11 

Total  

$905  01 

144,809.75 

5,712.41 

Average  

45  25 

7,240.50 

$0  625 

285.62 

$0  158 

Bui.  52. 


Station  Findings  with  Dairy  Herds. 


461 


The  preceding  table  is  especially  valuable  because  it  covers  a 
year's  findings  with  all  the  cows  of  the  herd,  none  being  omitted 
in  order  to  raise  the  average. 

We  observe  a  wide  range  in  the  cost  of  feed  consumed  by  the 
several  cows,  a  still  wider  one  in  the  yield  of  milk,  and  a  marked 
difference  in  the  cost  of  producing  milk  and  fat.  It  is  apparent 
from  this  table  that  even  in  well -nurtured  dairy  herds,  where  all 
conditions  are  favorable,  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  study 
feed  consumption  and  the  returns  of  milk  and  fat  of  each  cow  that 
the  poor  ones  may  be  eliminated  and  only  the  best  reserved  for 
future  breeders  and  producers. 

694.  Dry  matter  required. —  Another  lesson  from  the  Cornell 
herd  is  here  presented.  The  dry  matter  in  the  feed  required  for 
producing  one  hundred  pounds  of  milk  and  one  pound  of  butter- 
fat  with  each  of  the  cows  during  seven  months  —  November  to 
April  inclusive  —  is  given  in  the  following  table: 

Dry  matter  required  in  food   by  cows  for   one  hundred  pounds  of 
milk  and  one  pound  of  fat  —  Cornell  Station. 


No.  of  cow. 

Dry  matter  consumed. 

Live  wt. 

Dry  matter 
consumed 
per  1,000  Ibs. 
live  wt. 
per  day. 

For  each 
100  Ibs. 
milk. 

For  each 
Ib.  fat. 

No.   1... 

Lbs. 

79 
87 
136 
148 
92 
249 
81 
106 
141 
123 
140 
137 
120 
101 
91 
94 
74 
102 
104 
83 

Lbs. 

17 
28 
27 
42 
17 
44 
22 
21 
25 
36 
47 
26 
33 
31 
28 
28 
25 
28 
23 
19 

Lbs. 

858 
1,326 
946 
972 
1,123 
815 
,474 
,071 
829 
,270 
,001 
,030 
,283 
,007 
,160 
,305 
,520 
,183 
1,239 
1,040 

Lbs. 

28.8 
22.8 
25.8 
25.9 
22.9 
29.2 
21.3 
22.6 
30.8 
20.7 
25.1 
22.9 
23.4 
26.1 
25.4 
22.2 
21.6 
25.5 
24.7 
26.4 

No.   2  

No.   3... 

No.   4  

No.   5  

No.    6  

No.    7  

No.    8  

No.    9  

No.  10  

No.  11  

No.  12  

No.  13  

No.  14  

No.  15  

No.  16  

No.  17   

No.  18  

No.  19  

No.  20  

Average  

104 

27 

24.7 

462  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  average  for  the  herd  of  20  cows  shows  that  104  pounds  of 
dry  matter  in  the  feed  produced  100  pounds  of  milk,  and  27 
pounds  produced  1  pound  of  butter-fat;  24  pounds  of  dry  matter 
were  consumed  daily  per  1,000  pounds  of  live  weight  Eleven 
cows  whose  average  weight  was  1,004  pounds  consumed  more 
than  24  pounds  of  dry  matter  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight  daily. 
Nine  cows  whose  average  weight  was  1,267  pounds  ate  less  than 
24  pounds  of  dry  matter  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight.  This 
indicates  that  large  cows  may  consume  smaller  quantities  of  feed 
in  proportion  to  their  weight  than  small  cows.  (740) 


CHAPTEE  XXVIII. 

FEED  AND  CAKE  OF  THE  DAIEY  COW. 

I.   Care  and  Management. 

695.  Dairying  based  on  maternity  of  the  cow. —  Nature's  practice 
of  accumulating  fat  beneath  the  skin  and  between  the  muscular 
fibers  of  the  animal  body  is  to  store  heat  and  energy-producing 
material  against  a  time  of  need.  The  process  at  first  goes  on 
rapidly,  but  after  a  time  the  system  becomes  gorged,  and  a 
further  storage  of  fat  is  accomplished  only  at  a  high  cost  for  feed 
consumed.  (565)  How  different  with  the  dairy  cow,  which  eats 
heartily  the  food  given  her,  not  for  the  purpose  of  storing  fat  to 
protect  herself  against  a  time  of  possible  bodily  want,  but  for  the 
•nurture  of  her  young.  Food  given  at  night  is  digested  and  con- 
verted into  milk  ready  for  the  calf  in  the  morning,  the  assim- 
ilated products  disappearing  from  day  to  day  almost  as  soon  as 
elaborated,  making  easy  way  for  more  of  the  same  kind  from  the 
same  source.  Doubtless  it  is  because  the  milk  product  is  daily 
given  up  by  the  cow  that  she  so  greatly  excels  the  steer  in  the 
economical  production  of  human  food;  for  the  steer,  gaining  in 
weight  and  fat,  must  vitalize  and  carry  about  as  a  part  of  the 
body,  day  after  day,  all  the  added  flesh.  (612) 

The  appropriation  by  man  of  the  milk  designed  by  nature  for 
the  calf  makes  possible  the  great  art  of  dairying.  Taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  all-powerful  impulse  of  motherhood  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  young  of  the  species,  man  stimulates  the  dairy 
cow  by  abundant  feed  and  favorable  surroundings  to  produce 
much  more  milk  than  is  really  needed  by  the  calf  were  it  still 
the  object  of  her  care.  In  so  doing  he  has  made  the  dairy  cow 
more  or  less  an  artificial  creature. 

The  basis,  then,  of  our  dairy  system  is  the  maternity  of  the 
cow,  and  successful  dairying  depends  upon  rationally  recognizing 


464  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

this  fact.  To  W.  D.  Hoard,  of  Wisconsin,  belongs  the  credit  of 
bringing  this  subject  to  the  attention  of  dairymen.  *  No  one  can 
fairly  consider  the  dairy  problem  from  this  standpoint  without 
regarding  the  cow  in  a  new  light  and  thereby  becoming  a  better 
dairyman. 

696.  Caring  for  the  cow. —  While  our  purpose  is  to  cover  the 
question  of  feeding,  that  subject  cannot  be  wisely  considered 
unless  certain  matters  concerning  the  handling  of  the  cow  be  first 
discussed.     Though  it  cannot  be  affirmed  that  the  digestion  of 
food  by  the  cow  is  affected  by  the  character  of  her  surroundings, 
it  is  certain  that  the  yield  of  milk  and  its  character  are  directly 
influenced  thereby,  so  that  the  results  to  the  dairyman  are  the 
same.     Good  returns  from  a  given  supply  of  feed,  no  matter  how 
abundant  and  satisfactory,  cannot  be  looked  for,  unless  the  cow 
also  has  comfortable  quarters  and  is  intelligently  handled. 

697.  Necessity  for  shelter. —  In  another  article  (561)  it  is  shown 
that  the  steer,  gorged  with  food,  and  each  day  adding  to  the  layer 
of  heat-holding  fat  just  beneath  the  skin,  can  withstand  consid- 
erable cold,  often  showing  preference  for  the  open  shed  to  the 
close  stable.     The  condition  of  the  dairy  cow  is  in  strong  opposi- 
tion to  this,  her  system  being  relaxed  by  the  annual  drain  of 
maternity  and  the  semi- daily  heavy  loss  of  nutrients  drawn  from 
her  in  the  abundant  milk  flow.     The  observant  stockman  will  at 
once  detect  the  fundamental  difference  in  the  condition  of  the 
dairy  cow  and  the  fattening  ox  in  regard  to  ability  to  withstand 
exposure  to  the  weather.     To  be  profitably  managed  and  yield 
wholesome  milk  a  cow  must  be  comfortably  housed  in  a  well- 
ventilated  stable  in  winter,  the  temperature  of  which  should  not 
fall  below  forty  degrees  as  the  minimum,  or  rise  above  sixty  de- 
grees as  the  maximum.     In  such  a  stable,  provided  with  abun- 
dance of  sunlight,  she  is  in  condition,  so  far  as  environment  is 
concerned,  to  yield  the  highest  returns  for  the  feed  given.   (630) 

698.  Exercise. —  With  the  fattening  animal  soon  to  be  slaugh- 
tered, confinement  more  or  less  close  is  advisable,  since  it  pre- 
vents waste  of  tissue  and  conserves  the  feed.     The  end  in  view 
with  the  daiiy  cow  is  radically  different,  for  she  must  give  milk 

1  Bui.  No.  1,  Wisconsin  Farmers'  Institute,  and  elsewhere. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow.  465 

almost  daily  during  the  whole  period  of  her  usefulness,  and  the 
milk  so  yielded  must  be  wholesome  in  character,  fit  in  all  partic- 
ulars for  the  most  delicate.  It  is  certainly  reasonable  to  hold 
that  the  cow  cannot  maintain  the  high  standard  of  bodily  health 
and  vigor  essential  to  the  production  of  healthful  milk  when  she 
is  closely  confined  in  the  stable  for  long  periods  without  oppor- 
tunity for  outdoor  air  and  exercise.  She  should  be  allowed 
several  hours'  exercise  daily  out  of  doors,  or  in  quarters  other 
than  where  she  passes  most  of  her  time,  the  change  affording 
opportunity  to  breath  the  pure  air  and  drink  in  the  sunshine,  as 
well  as  to  exercise  the  muscles  which  have  not  been  called  into 
action  while  in  confinement,  and  resting  those  taxed  by  occupying 
a  forced  position  in  the  narrow  stall  or  stanchion. 

699.  Professor  Roberts'  system. —  At  the   North,  where  the 
winters  are  severe,  it  is  difficult  to  give  cattle  the  requisite  exer- 
cise without  forcing  them  to  undergo  exposure  during  inclement 
weather.    At  the  Cornell  Station, l  Professor  Eoberts  has  for  years 
followed  a  plan  of  seemingly  great  value  in  its  teachings  to  the 
dairymen  of  the  North.    Here  the  cows  stand  in  stanchions  while 
feeding  and  being  milked,  but  are  afterward  turned  into  a 
covered  enclosure,  where  they  are  free  to  stand  or  lie  at  will; 
thus  they  have  a  feed  room  and  an  exercise  room  each  specially 
adapted  to  its  purpose.     The  accumulations  from  the  horse  stable 
are  spread  over  the  floor  of  the  covered  yard,  and  this  in  turn  is 
covered  liberally  with  straw,  on  which  land  plaster  is  sprinkled 
to  prevent  odors  arising.     This  perfect  system  of  saving  manure 
should  of  itself,  in  a  few  years,  pay  for  the  cost  of  the  additional 
space  required.     By  this  plan  the  stable  proper  can  be  reduced 
to  the  smallest  size  compatible  with  holding  the  animals  while 
being  milked  and  fed.   It  can  be  kept  scrupulously  clean  and  prop- 
erly aired,  since  the  cows  are  out  of  it  several  hours  daily.    The 
animals  come  to  their  provender  at  meal  time  with  the  best  of  ap- 
petites, and  return  to  their  larger  quarters  to  ruminate  in  comfort. 

700.  Regularity  and  kindness. —  To  skilful  feeding  the  successful 
dairyman  will  add  regularity  and  kindness  in  the  management  of 

*  Bui.  13;  The  Fertility  of  the  Land,  p.  201. 
30 


466  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

his  herd.  The  true  dairy  cow  is  easily  affected  by  unfavorable 
conditions. 

Babcock  of  the  Wisconsin  Station, l  after  careful  studies  with 
cows  in  many  ways,  writes:  "The  elaboration  of  milk  does  not 
proceed  at  a  uniform  rate  from  milking  to  milking,  but  is  most 
active  at  the  time  of  milking,  and  is  dependent  not  only  upon  the 
stimulus  which  the  milk  glands  derive  from  the  manipulation  of 
the  teats  and  udder,  but  upon  the  nervous  condition  of  the  animal 
at  the  time  of  milking. 

"In  consequence  of  this,  slight  changes  in  the  conditions  under 
which  the  milking  is  done  may  have  a  decided  influence  upon 
both  the  yield  and  quality  of  milk.  As  a  general  rule  the  quality 
of  milk,  measured  by  the  per  cent,  of  fat  which  it  contains,  is 
more  sensitive  to  changes  of  this  kind  than  is  the  yield  of  milk. 
Among  the  changes  which  appear  to  have  most  influence  in  this 
respect,  the  following  are  of  especial  importance,  viz. :  Change  in 
the  interval  between  milkings  and  in  the  rate  of  milking 5  change 
of  milkers  and  manner  of  milking,  especially  if  the  manipula- 
tion of  the  teats  and  udder  be  different;  change  of  environment 
and  any  circumstance  which  excites  or  even  slightly  disturbs  the 
animal  at  the  time  —  excitement  between  milkings,  if  the  cow  has 
become  quiet  before  milking,  appears  to  have  comparatively  little 
influence.  As  would  be  expected  there  is  a  great  difference  in 
cows  in  this  respect,  some  being  very  sensitive,  while  others  are 
scarcely  affected  at  all.  In  our  experiments  cows  that  have  been 
giving  milk  for  a  long  time  have  been  less  sensitive  in  this  respect 
than  fresh  cows  that  were  giving  a  large  quantity  of  milk,  but 
this  may  have  been  due  to  individual  characteristics  of  the 
animals  tested  and  not  to  the  advanced  period  of  lactation.  I 
would  recommend,  therefore,  in  order  to  obtain  the  best  results 
from  any  cow,  that  first  of  all  she  be  treated  kindly,  all  sources  of 
excitement  being  avoided  so  far  as  possible.  She  should  also  be 
fed  and  milked  at  regular  intervals  by  the  same  person,  and  all 
conditions  should  be  maintained  as  nearly  uniform  as  possible  at 
all  times.  It  is  my  opinion  that  kind  treatment  and  pleasant 
surroundings  will  have  a  greater  influence  upon  the  quality  of 

1  Kept.  1889. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow.  467 

milk  than  the  kind  of  food,  provided  the  ration  given  contains 
sufficient  nutriment  for  the  maintenance  of  the  animal. " 

701.  Feed  and  care  of  the  bull. —  The  ration  for  the  bull  calf 
should  be  rich  in  muscle-  and  bone-making  material  and  ample  in 
amount.     As  much  growth  as  possible  should  be  secured  from 
pasture,  because  flesh  from  this  source  is  the  best  that  can  be 
made,  and  also  because  of  the  vigor  and  tone  this  form  of  feed 
insures.     In  order  to  retain  the  young  bull  in  pasture,  a  fence 
may  be  constructed  with  strong  posts  eight  feet  apart  set  deep  in 
the  ground;  to  these  six  or  more  strands  of  doubled  barbed-wire 
are  fastened.     This  makes  an  enclosure  that  will  easily  hold  the 
young  fellow,  and  here  in  the  air  and  sunshine,  with  grass  under 
foot,  he  will  build  a  framework  and  establish  a  constitution  which 
will  not  leave  him  old  at  four  or  five  years,  as  we  have  come  to 
think  bulls  to  be.     In  winter,  if  possible,  allow  the  bull  exer- 
cise in  an  open  lot  with  shed  on  one  side  to  protect  from  the  storm. 
The  feed  supply  should  consist  of  ample  roughage,  such  as  clover 
hay,  corn  stover  and  oat  straw,  with  shorts,  bran  and  oats  for 
concentrates,  these,  however,  being  not  too  abundant. 

If  the  mature  bull  must  be  confined  to  the  shed  or  housed  in  sum- 
mer there  should  be  a  liberal  allowance  of  green  feed,  which  will 
alleviate  in  some  measure  the  hardship  of  continued  confinement. 
A  reform  is  needed  in  our  present  methods  of  confining  bulls, — 
leaving  them  more  in  the  pasture  than  at  present.  To  do  this 
the  enclosure  must  be  made  secure  with  plank  fences,  supple- 
mented by  wires  for  older  animals,  to  insure  safety,  for  there  is 
too  great  risk  of  life  in  allowing  these  creatures  to  run  at  large 
with  the  herd  in  pasture. 

702.  Fall  and  spring  cows. —  On  the  plains  of  the  West,  where 
we  find  the  cow  under  natural  conditions,  calves  must  be  dropped 
in  the  spring  in  order  to  become  strong  enough  to  withstand  the 
rigor  of  the  following  winter.     In  dairy  districts  the  cow  is  under 
artificial  conditions,  and  nature  need  not  be  followed  in  all  par- 
ticulars.    Cows  fresh  in  the  spring  yield  most  of  their  milk  dur- 
ing periods  of  low  prices  for  dairy  products,  and  on  returning  to 
winter  quarters  the  milk  flow  is  not  stimulated  by  the  feed  and 
conditions  there  prevailing.     The  cow  that  is  fresh  in  the  fall 


468  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

gives  a  liberal  supply  of  milk  during  winter,  and  when  spring 
comes  will  flush  again  under  the  stimulus  of  fresh  pastures.  Fall- 
fresh  cows  will  probably  yield  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  more 
milk  in  the  twelve-month  than  those  calving  in  the  spring. 

703.  Care  before  and  after  calving. —  There  is  a  strong  natural 
tendency  with  most  good  cows  to  become  fat  when  not  yielding 
milk.  The  pregnant  dry  cow  should  receive  such  feed  supply  as 
will  allow  her  to  attain,  without  difficulty,  a  good  body  condition. 
Grass  is  the  best  feed  for  this  purpose,*  and  if  the  dry  cow  can 
flesh  up  on  grass  alone  it  should  be  done.  Dairy  cows  are  so 
heavily  fed  with  grain  while  giving  milk  that  this  opportunity 
for  change  of  feed  and  for  recuperation  should  be  utilized  by  the 
dairyman.  While  there  is  a  diversity  of  opinion  among  dairy- 
men as  to  the  ideal  condition  of  the  cow  at  calving  time,  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  hold  that  she  should  be  in  good  flesh,  though  not 
" butcher  fat.'7  Before  calving  the  feed  should  be  cooling  in 
character.  Silage,  roots,  clover,  hay,  and  fodder  corn  without 
ears,  are  all  desirable  for  roughage.  Bran,  middlings,  oats, 
and  a  little  oil  meal  should  prove  satisfactory  for  concentrates. 
Immediately  before  calving  let  the  supply  of  feed  be  relatively 
small.  After  calving,  tepid  water  only  should  be  given,  as  cold 
water  may  bring  on  a  threatening  ailment.  If  nourishment  is 
needed,  a  little  oat  meal  or  ground  oats  in  the  water  given  will 
prove  helpful.  Let  the  feed  supplied  after  calving  be  light  for  a 
few  days  and  always  under,  rather  than  equal  to,  the  desire  of  the 
cow.  The  use  of  a  clinical  thermometer  in  ascertaining  the  tem- 
perature of  the  cow  from  time  to  time  for  a  few  days  before  and 
after  calving,  or  until  all  danger  is  past,  is  a  most  helpful  means 
of  determining  the  general  condition  of  the  animal  and  an  aid  in 
forestalling  serious  trouble. 

704.  Frequency  of  feeding. —  The  frequency  with  which  feed 
should  be  supplied  cows  has  not  been  settled,  and  perhaps  never 
will  be  until  the  members  of  the  human  family  agree  on  the  num- 
ber of  meals  a  day  and  the  character  of  each  best  suited  to  their 
own  needs.  From  the  large  size  of  the  paunch  and  the  apparent 
necessity  for  rumination,  it  does  not  seem  essential  to  supply  feed 
many  times  a  day.  The  common  practice  of  feeding  twice  a  day, 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow.  469 

once  in  the  morning  and  once  late  in  the  afternoon,  with  an  arm- 
ful of  roughage  to  pick  over  at  midday,  appears  a  reasonable  one, 
and  conforms  well  with  the  labor  requirements  of  the  stable. 
There  are  dairymen  who  are  never  through  feeding.  They  give 
first  a  little  of  this,  then  a  little  of  that,  keeping  themselves  busy- 
in  the  stable  most  of  the  day  in  caring  for  their  cows.  The  cows 
of  such  persons  usually  yield  good  returns,  and  their  owners 
ascribe  success  to  their  particular  system  of  feeding,  when  in- 
stead it  is  the  general  good  care  and  not  the  particular  system 
that  should  be  credited.  As  with  mankind,  habit  rules  in  these 
matters;  and  any  system  which  is  reasonable,  having  once  been 
established,  should  not  be  set  aside  unless  the  feeder  is  sure  of 
advantage  from  the  change,  which  should  be  gradual,  if  possible. 

705.  Order  of  feeding  concentrates,  roughage  and  water. — The 
digestive  tract  of  the  cow  is  provided  with  a  large  storage  room 
for  the  reception  of  feed.   (28,  34)     In  the  paunch  the  various 
articles  swallowed  are  rapidly  and  thoroughly  commingled  by  the 
churning  action  of  that  organ.    Hay  and  grain  are  soon  thoroughly 
intermixed,  and  gradually  soften  in  the  warm  liquid  there  so 
abundant.     This  being  true,  the  order  of  supplying  the  several 
constituents  of  the  ration  is  not  of  importance  from  a  physiological 
standpoint.     The  cow  seems  best  satisfied  when  receiving  the 
concentrates  or  more  appetizing  portion  of  the  ration  first,  and 
after  this  has  been  disposed  of  she  begins  in  contentment  to  chew 
the  hay,  silage  or  other  roughage  placed  before  her.     As  barn 
operations  are  usually  conducted,  watering  follows  dry  feed. 

706.  Preparation  of  feed. —  As  the  dairy  cow  when  giving  a 
large  flow  of  milk  is  accomplishing  much  work,  it  is  best  to  pre- 
pare the  feed  for  rapid  mastication  when  possible  without  too 
great  cost.     Grain  should  generally  be  ground  and  roots  sliced. 
Where  labor  is  high  priced,  as  at  the  West,  it  is  preferable  in 
many  cases  to  feed  the  cow  in  the  most  simple  manner,  even 
though  as  large  returns  do  not  follow. 

707.  Dry  feed. —  Cows  take  kindly  to  dry  feed,  and  as  a  rule 
prefer  it  to  that  in  a  sloppy  condition.     Because  of  the  thorough 
admixture  of  the  contents  of  the  rumen,  where  there  is  abun- 
dance of  moisture,  there  seems  no  occasion  for  converting  meal 


470  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

into  slop  before  feeding.     By  supplying  the  feed  dry  the  mangers 
can  be  kept  more  wholesome  with  less  labor  in  administering  it. 

708.  Liberal  feeding. —  The  dairyman  should  never  forget  that 
about  sixty  per  cent,  of  all  the  cow  can  eat  is  required  to  sustain 
her  body,  and  only  after  this  amount  is  provided  can  there  be 
any  returns  to  him.   (134)     Having  incurred  the  expense  neces- 
sary to  operate  a  dairy,  in  the  purchase  of  lands,  buildings  and 
cows,  he  is  certainly  shortsighted  who  will  withhold  any  part  of 
the  forty  per  cent,  of  provender  which  will  produce  returns  for 
himself.     When  the  dairyman  has  reached  the  point  of  liberal 
feeding,  he  should  begin  to  study  the  individual  needs  of  the 
members.     Since  some  cows  can  profitably  utilize  more  feed  than 
others  the  distribution  of  concentrates  should  proceed  with  dis- 
crimination, some  animals  being  fed  more  and  others  less  than 
the  average  of  the  herd. 

709.  Confinement  during  heated  periods. —  Whether  or  not  the 
dairyman  practice  soiling,  there  are  periods  in  summer  when 
cows  should  be  in  the  stable  during  the  day  and  turned  to  past- 
ure at  night.     During  heated  periods,  when  flies  are  troublesome, 
cows  fall  off  greatly  in  their  milk,  this  shrinkage  measuring  in 
some  degree  their  suffering.     At  such  times  it  is  best  to  place 
them  in  darkened  stables  and  supply  green  forage  supplemented 
with  meal.     For  exercise  turn  them  out  at  night  in  yard  or 
pasture.    Knowing  how  difficult  it  is  to  bring  cows  back  to  their 
normal  flow  after  these  periods  of  shrinkage,  the  wise  dairyman 
will  not  be  unwilling  to  provide  for  their  comfort  at  such  times. 

710.  Water. —  That  the  cow  requires  a  liberal  supply  of  water 
goes  without  saying;  for  not  only  must  the  wants  of  the  body  be 
met,  but  a  considerable  quantity  is  drained  off  with  the  milk 
twice  daily.   (73)     Being  creatures  of  habit,  cows  can  subsist 
when  supplied  water  once  each  day,  but  an  opportunity  to  reach 
the  trough  morning  and  evening  is  preferable.     It  is  becoming 
quite  common  to  supply  water  to  cows  individually  in  small 
troughs  or  vessels  placed  in  front  of  them  in  the  stable.     If  this 
supply  can  be  kept  wholesome  the  practice  is  satisfactory;  but 
close  inspection  will  show  that  in  many  cases,  perhaps  a  majority, 
these  individual  watering  devices  are  traps  for  filth  and  foul -smell- 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow.  471 

ing  water.  The  dairyman  should  convince  himself,  by  using  his 
nose  as  well  as  his  eyes,  that  the  water  in  these  devices  is  pure 
and  wholesome. 

Whatever  method  of  watering  is  employed,  let  uniformity  pre- 
vail, the  cows  having  opportunity  to  secure  all  they  wish  without 
fear  of  one  another  or  of  being  forced  to  undergo  hardship  in 
securing  it.  Often  the  dairyman  boasts  of  a  spring  or  creek  at 
which  his  cows  may  help  themselves.  These  sources  of  supply 
are  sometimes  a  long  distance  from  the  stable,  and  the  animals 
are  daily  forced  to  make  journeys  to  them,  often  in  inclement 
weather,  thereby  experiencing  discomfort  and  actual  hardship. 
A  good  well  with  wind-mill  will  prove  superior  to  springs  and 
brooks  in  most  cases,  because  with  these  water  can  be  delivered 
when  and  where  it  is  needed.  (628) 

711.  Salt. —  Though  little  is  known  from  investigation  on  this 
subject,  it  is  evident  from  the  extreme  fondness  of  dairy  cows  for 
salt  that  this  article  should  be  regularly  and  abundantly  supplied 
them.     The  necessity  for  salt  increases  with  the  amount  of  con- 
centrates given.     From  three- fourths  to  one  ounce  of  salt  daily  is 
a  reasonable  allowance.     It  should  be  supplied  daily  rather  than 
at  irregular  or  infrequent  periods  in  larger  quantities.     The  prac- 
tice of  placing  large  lumps  of  rock  salt  where  they  are  accessible 
to  the  herd  is  satisfactory,  provided  the  salt  is  kept  under  cover 
in  a  clean  box.   (72,  629) 

II.  Feed  for  the  Dairy  Cow. 

712.  Necessity  for  concentrated  feed. —  The  dairy  cow  when 
yielding  a  liberal  supply  of  milk  should  be  regarded  as  an  animal 
at  hard  labor.     We  have  seen  that  the  work-horse  must  have 
more  grain  and  less  roughage  as  his  labor  increases,  and  the  same 
is  true  with  the  cow.     (Chapter  XVII,  Part  II.)     A  portion  of 
the  provender  must  therefore  take  the  form  of  grain  or  concen- 
trates.    Moreover,  if  she  is  yielding  a  large  amount  of  milk,  i.  e., 
working  hard,  it  is  best  to  aid  her  by  reducing  the  grain  to  fine- 
ness by  grinding.     The  dry  cow  is  doing  little  work  and  can  sub- 
sist on  less  feed,  and  this  may  be  coarser  in  character. 

713.  The  relation  of  concentrates  to  roughage. —  The  relation 
of  concentrates  to  roughage  should  always  be  borne  in  mind. 


472  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  rule  should  be  to  feed  nearly  as  much  roughage  as  the  cow 
will  consume  without  overtaxing  her 5  then  supply  sufficient  con- 
centrates to  bring  the  digestible  matter  up  to  the  required  stand- 
ard. About  four-tenths  of  the  digestible  nutrients  should  be 
given  in  the  form  of  concentrates  and  six-tenths  in  the  roughage. 
It  will  not  do  to  feed  all  grain  in  expectation  of  better  returns. 
A  satisfactory  ration  must  possess  a  certain  bulk  or  volume  in 
order  to  properly  distend  the  abdomen.  Without  this  the  pro- 
cesses of  digestion  cannot  proceed  normally.  This  should  never 
be  forgotten,  even  when  forcing  cows  in  dairy  contests.  (Chapter 

vn.) 

714.  Concerning  the  various  feed  stuffs. —  In  general,  the  vari- 
ous feeding  stuffs  used  by  dairymen  have  been  fully  considered 
in  earlier  chapters,  so  that  only  some  of  the  more  common  ones 
need  be  here  taken  up,  and  these  only  in  a  brief  way. 

715.  Corn. —  To  this  grain  is  due  in  no  small  measure  the 
pre-eminence  of  the  great  dairy  district  of  the  West,  in  which 
Indian  corn  flourishes.     No  article  is  more  palatable  to  the  cow 
than  corn  in  almost  any  form,  and  her  fondness  for  it  has  often 
led  to  its  abuse.     Milk  production  calls  for  a  large  amount  ot 
protein  in  the  ration,  and  this  protein  constituent  is  not  abundant 
in  corn;  for  this  reason  corn  should  not  form  more  than  one-half 
or  three-fifths  of  the  concentrates. 

Where  labor  is  high  priced  and  corn  cheap,  it  will  be  found 
economical  to  feed  corn  without  husking.  The  simplest  way  is  to 
use  shock  corn,  throwing  the  long  stalks  with  the  ears  into  the 
feed  mangers.  The  cows  at  first  search  for  the  ears,  and  having 
consumed  these  strip  off  the  leaves,  even  eating  the  finer  portions 
of  the  stalks.  By  supplying  corn  on  the  stalk  for  the  evening  feed, 
so  as  to  allow  the  cows  a  long  period  for  working  them  over,  all 
will  be  consumed  before  morning  except  some  of  the  coarser  por- 
tions of  the  stalks,  thus  reducing  the  labor  of  removing  the  waste. 
Dairymen,  however,  will  generally  prefer  to  run  their  shock  corn 
through  the  feed- cutter  or  shredder,  which  leaves  the  material  in 
a  form  relished  by  the  cow  and  easily  handled.  The  broken  ears 
of  corn  are  then  easily  masticated,  the  cobs  also  being  consumed. 

With  unhusked  corn  care  must  be  taken  to  supply  only  the 
requisite  amount  of  grain,  which  can  be  determined  by  selecting 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow.  473 

an  average  shock,  husking  out  the  ears  and  ascertaining  how 
much  shelled  corn  it  carries.  In  feeding  corn  in  this  manner 
some  of  the  grain  will  pass  into  the  droppings  undigested,  but 
this  need  not  be  wasted  if  lusty  shotes  are  given  the  opportunity 
of  searching  it  out.  (538,  634) 

716.  Corn  meal. —  When  exposed  to  the  air  corn  becomes  dry 
and  should  then  be  ground  before  feeding.     Corn  meal  is  a  heavy, 
rich  feed  and  should  always  be  lightened  or  extended  by  the  use 
of  bran,  shorts,  oil  meal,  or  some  other  feed  of  light  character. 
Corn  and  cob  meal  will  be  found  satisfactory  for  dairy  feeding, 
and  is  recommended  whenever  it  is  possible  to  secure  it  at  not  too 
great  expense  for  grinding. 

717.  By-products  of  corn. —  Gluten  meal,  cream-gluten,  grano- 
gluten,  corn  germ  and  other  by-products  of  corn  are  all  excellent 
articles  for  feeding  the  cow,  and  their  use  is  strongly  commended. 
Eastern  dairymen  have  learned  to  appreciate  these  articles  and 
use  them  extensively,  while  Western  dairymen,  often  living  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  factories  where  they  are  produced, 
know  little  or  nothing  concerning  them.   (161-4,  635-7) 

718.  Oats. —  It  is  not  difficult  to  believe  that  oats,  the  most  val- 
uable grain  for  the  horse,  are  also  a  prime  feed  for  the  dairy  cow. 
The  husk  of  the  oat,  though  carrying  little  nutriment,  renders  this 
grain  a  feed  of  light  character  in  the  stomach  and  easy  of  diges- 
tion.    With  the  data  given  us  by  Woll,  (642)  the  dairy  farmer 
is  in  position  to  easily  determine  whether  he  can  afford  to  feed 
the  oats  he  may  grow,  or  exchange  them  for  bran  or  other  com- 
mon feeds. 

The  by-products  of  oat-meal  factories  are  valuable  just  in  the 
proportion  in  which  the  kernels  of  the  oat  grain  appear  in  them. 
Often  there  are  sufficient  fragments  of  kernels  in  these  articles  to 
warrant  the  payment  of  a  fair  price  for  them;  but  when  the  hulls 
only  are  offered  the  dairyman  would  better  let  them  alone,  for 
they  are  no  better  than  the  roughage  in  his  mows  and  stacks. 

719.  Wheat  bran  and  middlings. —  Next  to  corn,  wheat  bran  is 
the  great  cow  feed  of  this  country.     Rich  in  ash  and  protein, 
carrying  a  fair  amount  of  starchy  matter,  its  light,  chaffy  char- 
acter renders  it  the  natural  complement  of  heavy  corn  meal. 


474  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Though  its  nutritive  constituents  approximate  those  of  cotton- 
seed meal,  it  mixes  well  with  that  feed,  causing  it  to  lie  more 
lightly  in  the  stomach. 

The  large  amount  of  mineral  matter  in  bran  is  another  factor 
of  much  importance  in  milk  production.  In  milk  there  is  much 
mineral  matter,  placed  there  for  the  framework  of  the  calf,  and 
bran  supplies  this  more  abundantly  than  most  feeding  stuffs. 

Middlings,  like  bran,  are  extensively  fed  to  dairy  cows.  Being 
themselves  heavy  in  character,  they  do  not  mix  well  with  heavy 
feeds  like  cotton- seed  meal  and  corn  meal.  Dairymen  will  find 
middlings  much  relished  by  cows  and  yielding  satisfactory  re- 
turns. Bran  and  middlings  are  conceded  by  all  who  have  fed 
them  to  favorably  affect  the  flow  of  milk.  (174—5) 

Cows  may  be  fed  as  much  as  six  to  eight  pounds  of  bran  daily 
and  from  four  .to  six  pounds  of  middlings. 

720.  Rye. —  This  grain  is  fed  in  small  quantities  to  milch  cows 
in  Denmark.     It  is  said  to  have  a  somewhat  deleterious  influence 
on  the  quality  of  butter.    The  same  statement  applies  to  rye  bran. 
Not  over  three  pounds  of  ground  rye  or  rye  bran  should  be  fed  in 
one  day  to  milch  cows. 

721.  Barley. —  The  common  grain  for  milch  cows  in  Denmark 
is  barley  and  oats,  generally  sown  and  harvested  together,  the 
proportion  of  barley  and  oats  in  the  mixture  being  2:3,  or  1:2. 
Barley  alone  is  not  fed  extensively  to  cows,  wheat  bran  being 
preferred  on  the  score  of  cheapness  and  influence  on  the  milk 
secretion.     Barley  will  prove  beneficial  to  cows  fed  heavily  with 
roots,  since  it  counteracts  their  laxative  influence.     From  three 
to  five  pounds  of  ground  barley  will  suffice  in  the  ration  of  the 
cow,  bran  proving  an  excellent  complementary  feed.   (178) 

722.  Brewers'  grains. —  Fresh  brewers'  grains  constitute  one  of 
the  best  of  feeds  for  the  dairy  cow.    She  is  fond  of  them,  and  they 
influence  most  favorably  the  flow  of  milk.     Fed  while  fresh,  in 
reasonable  quantity,  supplemented  by  bright  hay  or  corn  fodder 
for  dry  feed,  the  grains  being  supplied  in  tight  feed-boxes  which 
can  be  kept  clean,  and  with  all  other  conditions  favorable  to  the 
healthfulness  of  the  cow,  no  valid  objection  can  be  raised  against 
this  form  of  feed.     From  twenty  to  thirty  pounds  of  wet  grains 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow.  475 

should  constitute  a  day's  allowance.  Because  the  grains  are  low 
priced  is  no  reason  for  over-feeding  with  them.  Corn  meal  is  an 
excellent  complementary  feed,  two  or  three  pounds  being  used 
daily  with  the  grains.  Because  of  their  sloppy  character,  some 
dry  feed  should  always  be  supplied  with  the  grains  unless  the 
cows  are  at  pasture  in  summer.  (182) 

Dried  brewers'  grains  can  be  economically  transported  and  form 
an  excellent  feed  for  cows.  Their  purpose  in  the  ration  will  be 
largely  to  supply  protein,  which  they  carry  in  abundance.  It 
seems  strange  that  American  dried  brewers'  grains  should  find 
their  market  largely  in  distant  Germany.  Four  or  five  pounds  of 
dried  grains  will  furnish  a  considerable  portion  of  the  protein  re- 
quired in  the  ration  and  prove  very  acceptable  to  the  cow.  (183) 

723.  Cotton  seed  and  its  by-products. —  Vanderford,  of  the  Ten- 
nessee Station, 1  concludes  as  follows,  after  a  study  of  cotton  seed 
and  its  by-products  for  cows:  "We  can  recommend  as  giving 
satisfactory  results  the  use  of  as  much  as  15  pounds  of  cotton-seed 
hulls  in  the  dairy  ration  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight.  A  larger 
proportion  has,  with  our  cows,  caused  a  weakening  of  the  digest- 
ive powers,  evidenced  in  some  cases  by  a  tendency  to  diarrhoea, 
in  others  to  constipation." 

Of  cotton- seed  meal  he  writes:  "  We  do  not  think  it  advisable 
to  feed  more  than  five  pounds  of  cotton-seed  meal  daily  to  milch 
cows.  For  butter- making  it  is  not  advisable  to  exceed  three 
pounds  daily.  Many  years  of  close  observation  elsewhere,  as 
well  as  the  results  of  recent  experiments,  induce  the  writer  to  be- 
lieve that  it  is  not  safe  to  feed  cotton-seed  meal  as  the  sole  addi- 
tion to  the  daily  allowance  of  coarse  fodders,  particularly  during 
the  three  months  preceding  and  month  after  calving." 

Connell  and  Clayton, 2  experimenting  with  cotton-seed  meal  and 
cotton  seed,  found  boiled  cotton  seed  the  cheapest  available  feed. 
Lloyd, 3  testing  cotton  seed  and  cotton- seed  meal,  reached  the  fol- 
lowing results,  when  cotton  seed  was  valued  at  six  dollars  per  ton 
and  cotton -seed  meal  at  twenty  dollars  per  ton:  "  By  comparing 
the  averages  of  the  lots  fed  on  steamed  seed,  raw  seed,  and  on 

-  Bui.  April,  1893. 

2  Bui.  33,  Texas  Expt.  Sta. 

8  Bui.  21,  Miss.  Expt.  Sta. 


476  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

cotton-seed  meal  (the  rations  of  hay  being  the  same  in  each 
case),  it  was  found  that,  with  steamed  seed,  milk  was  produced  at 
a  cost  of  6.5  cents  per  gallon  and  butter  at  14.3  cents  per  pound; 
with  raw  seed,  milk  was  produced  at  7.25  cents  per  gallon  and 
butter  at  15.58  cents  per  pound;  and  from  cotton-seed  meal,  milk 
was  produced  at  a  cost  of  11.13  cents  per  gallon  and  butter  at 
25.02  cents  per  pound. " 

While  the  seed  may  be  fed  raw,  it  is  stated  that  cooking  pre- 
vents it  from  imparting  an  undesirable  flavor  to  butter.  (210-12, 
216-17,  644) 

724.  Clover  hay. —  "No  dry  forage  can  prove  superior  to  good 
clover  hay  for  the  cow,  because  of  its  palatability  and  its  rela- 
tively high  protein  content.     This  hay  should  generally  be  fed 
long,  since  it  is  fresher  and  shows  less  dust  when  so  handled  than 
after  passing  through  the  feed- cutter.     From  ten  to  twelve  pounds 
is  a  sufficient  allowance  for  a  day's  feed.     Corn  fodder,   corn 
stover  or  corn  silage  are  complementary  forms  of  roughage.   (291) 

725.  Timothy  hay. —  Generally  dairymen  cannot  afford  to  feed 
timothy  hay  because  of  the  high  price  it  commands  compared 
with  its  very  moderate  value  for  roughage  when  fed  to  the  cow, 
and  also  because  of  the  small  yield  returned  per  acre.     Where 
prices  are  high,  if  there  is  timothy  hay  on  hand,  let  it  be  sold  and 
fodder  corn  used  in  its  place.     Often  a  ton  of  timothy  hay  can  be 
sold  for  a  sum  that  will  purchase  a  ton  of  bran,  in  which  case  the 
bran  should  be  used  with  fodder  corn  or  other  roughage. 

726.  Millet  hay. —  Hay  from  millet  or  Hungarian  grass,  when 
well  preserved,  is  useful  for  feeding  if  supplied  once  a  day  for 
roughage.    Since  millet  is  not  rich  in  protein,  not  over  six  or  eight 
pounds  should  be  fed  daily.   (482)    Clover  hay  is  a  complement- 
ary roughage  feed  because  rich  in  protein. 

727.  Fodder  corn. —  In  this  country  successful  dairying  rests 
largely  upon  the  judicious  use  qf  the  corn  plant  for  forage.     The 
best  forage  is  secured  where  the  seed  grains  of  corn  are  planted 
just  thick  enough  to  grow  stalks  which  will  carry  a  generous  sup- 
ply of  small  ears  or  nubbins.     Harvested  at  the  right  time,  a 
large  yield  of  forage  is  secured,  which  is  so  palatable  that,  pre- 
served either  as  silage  or  cured  in  the  shock,  practically  all  of  the 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow.  477 

material  is  available  as  feed  for  the  cow  if  rightly  handled.  Next 
to  the  direct  care  of  the  herd,  the  greatest  study  of  the  dairyman 
should  be  in  learning  to  economically  grow,  harvest  and  admin- 
ister the  corn  plant. 

The  cow  may  receive  from  ten  to  fifteen  pounds  of  fodder  corn 
daily  with  advantage.  If  this  has  been  grown  with  a  "  nubbin  " 
or  small  ear  on  most  of  the  stalks,  a  fair  allowance  of  the  rough- 
age will  furnish  as  much  grain  as  should  be  fed.  (250) 

728.  Corn  stover. —  Where  corn  is  grown  for  the  grain,  the 
straw  or  stover  which  remains  after  husking  the  ears,  though  of 
less  value  than  fodder  corn,  may  still  serve  an  important  place 
in  the  feed  stable.     Cows  are  fond  of  the  finer  parts  of  the  corn 
stalk,  and  if  the  stover  is  run  through  a  feed- cutter  and  not  too 
liberally  supplied,  but  a  small  part  of  the  stalks  will  be  wasted. 
Where  the  stalks  are  coarse  and  inert,  as  they  are  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  corn  belt  and  further  south,  this  statement  does  not 
apply,  for  there  corn  stalks  are  not  much  relished  by  cows,  though 
in  silage  form  they  are  readily  eaten.   (251) 

729.  Roots. —  In  Europe  dairymen  make  large  use  of  roots. 
In  this  country,  where  Indian  corn  flourishes,  silage  from  corn 
will  be  found  more  economical  considering  cost  of  production, 
and  is  equally  satisfactory  with  the  root  crop  for  feeding  cows. 
Where  the  dairyman  does  not  have  silage  it  will  be  well  to  feed 
some  roots.     Mangels  are  the  best  for  cows  and  should  be  pulped 
or  sliced.     Canadian  dairymen  often  pulp  the  roots  and  mix  this 
with  chaffed  hay,  allowing  the  mass  to  stand  a  day  before  feed- 
ing.    From  twenty  to  forty  pounds  of  mangels  is  a  day's  allow- 
ance.    Sugar  beets  also  serve  for  feeding  cows.     Being  much 
richer  than  mangels,  a  smaller  quantity  should  be  fed.   (325) 

730.  Silage. —  Silage,  principally  from  the  corn  plant,  is  now  a 
factor  of  first  importance  on  thousands  of  American  dairy  farms. 
That  silage  is  well  liked  by  the  cow,  that  she  thrives  on  it  and 
yields  milk  liberally,  that  properly  fed  it  does  not  impair  her 
health, — all  these    points  have  been  settled  in  favor  of  the 
silo  and  its  product.     Since  corn  silage  is  rich  in  carbohydrates 
and  low  in  protein,  clover  hay  is  the  common  complementary 
roughage. 


478  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  character  of  silage  is  such  that,  even  though  cows  seem- 
ingly thrive  on  it  when  fed  alone,  some  dry  roughage  should  be 
supplied  with  it.  In  northern  latitudes  the  cow  should  not  be 
wholly  maintained  in  winter  on  silage.  Good  corn  silage  always 
contains  a  liberal  supply  of  ears,  and  the  amount  to  be  fed  de- 
pends directly  upon  the  proportion  of  ears  to  forage.  From  thirty 
to  fifty  pounds  is  the  usual  daily  allowance  for  a  cow.  (See  Chap- 
ter XV.) 

731.  Rations  for  dairy  cows. —  The  young  dairyman  scans  re- 
ports to  ascertain  what  others  are  feeding  their  cows;  the  dairy- 
man with  years  of  experience  is  not  averse  to  knowing  of  the 
practices  of  others,  though  he  may  be  slow  in  changing  to  that 
which  is  new.  (136) 

In  1894,  Woll,  of  the  Wisconsin  Station, l  by  correspondence 
secured  data  concerning  the  rations  fed  by  more  than  a  hundred 
dairymen  scattered  over  the  United  States.  (146)  As  most  of 
them  were  noted  in  their  specialty,  we  can  place  no  better  guide 
before  the  reader  than  a  group  of  rations  from  this  source: 

Colorado. — 20  Ibs.  alfalfa  hay,  5  Ibs.  oat  straw,  2£  Ibs.  wheat  bran,  2J  Ibs. 
shorts,  5  Ibs.  oats,  1£  Ibs.  cotton-seed  meal. 

Connecticut. —  35  Ibs.  corn  silage,  10  Ibs.  hay,  3  Ibs.  bran,  3  Ibs.  corn  and 
cob  meal,  2  Ibs.  cotton-seed  meal,  2  Ibs.  Chicago  gluten  meal. 

Illinois.— 10  Ibs.  timothy  hay,  10  Ibs.  clover  hay,  8  Ibs.  corn,  1£  Ibs.  oats. 

Indiana.— 30  Ibs.  corn  silage,  5  Ibs.  clover  hay,  3  Ibs.  corn  fodder,  1  Ib. 
oat  straw,  1  Ib.  wheat  straw,  5  Ibs.  bran,  2  Ibs.  oil  meal,  2  Ibs.  cot- 
ton-seed meal. 

Iowa.— 50  Ibs.  corn  silage,  5  Ibs.  hay,  5  Ibs.  corn  fodder,  1  Ib.  oat  straw, 

1  Ib.  barley  straw,  5  Ibs.  ear  corn,  2£  Ibs.  ground  oats  and  barley. 

Kentucky.—  32.5  Ibs.  corn  silage,  6  Ibs.  clover  hay,  3  Ibs.  corn  fodder,  5 
Ibs.  corn  meal,  4  Ibs.  ship-stuff,  2  Ibs.  oil  meal. 

Massachusetts.— 40  Ibs.  corn  silage,  5  Ibs.  English  hay,  5  Ibs.  clover  hay, 

2  Ibs.  bran,  2  Ibs.  gluten  meal,  1  Ib.  cotton-seed  meal,  1  Ib.  oil 
meal. 

Michigan.— 27.5  Ibs.  corn  silage,  3£  Ibs.  clover  hay,  3£  Ibs.  timothy  hay, 
3.6  Ibs.  bran,  $  Ib.  oats,  1  Ib.  rye,  £  Ib.  oil  meal. 

i  Bui.  38. 


Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow.  479 

Minnesota.— %  Ibs.  corn  stover,  7  Ibs.  clover  and  timothy  hay,  5  Ibs.  sheaf 
oats,  3  Ibs.  ruta-bagas,  2  Ibs.  bran,  3  Ibs.  oats,  3  Ibs.  corn  meal,  2  Ibs. 
oil  meal. 

Nebraska. — 20  Ibs.  prairie  hay,  10  Ibs.  corn  stover,  5.7  Ibs.  corn  meal,  2.9 
Ibs.  bran,  1.4  Ibs.  oil  meal. 

New  Hampshire. — 10  Ibs.  clover  and  witch-grass  hay,  10  Ibs.  corn  stover, 
5  Ibs.  unthrashed  barley,  2  Ibs.  corn  and  cob  meal,  2  Ibs.  shorts,  2 
Ibs.  cotton-seed  meal. 

New  Jersey. — 24  Ibs.  corn  silage,  8  Ibs.  corn  meal,  2  Ibs.  bran,  4  Ibs.  oats, 

2  Ibs.  oil  meal. 

New  York. — 25  Ibs.  corn  silage,  7  Ibs.  mixed  hay,  4  Ibs.  corn  meal,  5 
Ibs.  bran,  £  Ib.  oil  meal,  £  Ib.  cotton-seed  meal. 

North  Carolina. — 30  Ibs.  corn  silage,  8  Ibs.  fodder  corn,  3  Ibs.  corn  meal, 

3  Ibs.  bran,  1  Ib.  cotton-seed  meal. 

Ohio.— 10  Ibs.  clover  hay,  20  Ibs.  corn  stover,  8  Ibs.  corn  meal,  3  Ibs.  corn 
and  cob  meal,  1  Ib.  bran,  8  Ibs.  roots. 

Pennsylvania.—  45  Ibs.  corn  silage,  7  Ibs.  mixed  hay,  6  Ibs.  bran,  2  Ibs. 
cotton-seed  meal. 

Texas.—  30  Ibs.  corn  silage,  13 £  Ibs.  sorghum  hay,  1.3  Ibs.  corn  meal,  2.6 
Ibs.  cotton-seed  meal,  2.2  Ibs.  cotton  seed,  1.3  Ibs.  wheat  bran. 

Utah.— 35  Ibs.  alfalfa  hay,  6f  Ibs.  wheat  bran,  3£  Ibs.  barley. 

Vermont.—  35  Ibs.  corn  silage,  10  Ibs.  mixed  hay,  2  Ibs.  bran,  3.2  Ibs.  corn 
meal,  1  Ib.  oil  meal,  .8  Ib.  cotton-seed  meaL 

West  Virginia.— 48  Ibs.  corn  silage,  2|  Ibs.  corn  and  cob  meal,  2J  Ibs. 
ground  wheat,  2£  Ibs.  oats,  2-J-  Ibs.  barley  meal. 

Washington.— 15  Ibs.  alfalfa  hay,  7  Ibs.  bran,  7  Ibs.  shorts,  2  Ibs.  malt 
sprouts. 

Wisconsin.— 40  Ibs.  corn  silage,  8  Ibs.  clover  hay,  6  Ibs.  bran,  2  Ibs.  pea 
meal. 

Canada.—  45  Ibs.  turnips,  7  Ibs.  wheat  chaff,  15  Ibs.  silage,  2J  Ibs.  oats, 
2£  Ibs.  pea  meal. 


CHAPTEE  TTXTX". 


INVESTIGATIONS  WITH  SHEEP. 

732.  Periods  of  gestation. —  Tessier,  in  a  report  to  the  Academy 
of  Sciences,  Paris, l  gives  the  results  of  his  observations  on  the 
period  of  gestation  of  912  ewes.     The  shortest  period  for  the  ewe 
carrying  her  lamb  was  146  days,  and  the  longest  161,  a  range  of 
15  days.     More  than  three-fourths  of  the  ewes  yeaned  between 
the  150th  and  154th  day  after  impregnation,  bringing  the  average 
about  152  days,  or  21  weeks  and  5  days.     Bandall's  statement2 
as  to  the  period  of  gestation  coincides  with  that  of  Tessier. 

733.  Composition  of  ewe's  milk. —  Konig3  gives  the  composi- 
tion of  ewe's  milk  as  below.     For  comparison,  the  table  gives  the 
average  composition  of  cow's  milk  as  stated  by  the  same  author. 

Composition  of  ewe's  milk,  cow's  milk  being  given  for  comparison  — 

Konig. 


Casein 

Water. 

and 

Fat. 

Sugar. 

Ash. 

albumen. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Average  32  analyses  ewe's 
milk  

80  82 

6.52 

6.86 

4  91 

89 

Average  793  analyses  cow's 
milk 

87  17 

3  55 

3  69 

4  88 

71 

734.  Ewe's  milk. —  In  America  sheep  are  not  generally  used  for 
producing  milk  for  man,  as  in  many  districts  abroad,  especially 
in  mountain  regions,  where  this  milk  is  extensively  employed, 
partly  for  direct  consumption  and  partly  for  the  manufacture  of 
cheese.  Ewe's  milk  differs  from  cow's  milk  mainly  in  its  greater 
proportion  of  fat  and  protein.  Much  higher  percentages  than 

1  According  to  Colman,  Sheep  of  Great  Britain,  p.  250. 

»  The  Practical  Shepherd,  p.  207. 

8  Chem.  d.  mensch.  Nahr.  u.  Genus-mitteL 


Investigations  icith  Sheep. 


481 


the  average  given  in  the  preceding  table  have  often  been  found 
by  investigators.  1 

The  yield  of  milk  by  sheep  will  vary  greatly  according  to  the 
condition  of  feed  and  the  breed.  Martiny  states2  that  the  yield 
of  Friesian  milk  sheep  in  Westphalia,  Germany,  is  abont  four 
quarts  of  milk  daily  for  four  months.  These  sheep  lamb  once  a 
year,  dropping  two  or  three  lambs.  Three  sheep  are  estimated 
to  consume  as  much  feed  as  one  cow.  Ordinary  sheep  yield  from 
100  to  150  pounds  of  milk  per  year,  while  the  milk  breeds  pro- 
duce 300  pounds  or  more. 3 

The  period  of  lactation  for  sheep  is  from  four  to  six  months. 

735.  Weight  of  lambs  at  birth. —  The  weight  of  lambs  at  birth 
will  vary  with  the  breed,  ranging  from  5.5  to  12  and  even  15 
pounds,  the  latter  weight  being  unusual. 

At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College, 4  Brown  reports  the  fol- 
lowing weights  of  pure-bred  and  grade  lambs  from  Canadian  ewes: 

Weight  of  lambs  at  birth  —  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 


Breed. 

Pure-bred. 

Cross-bred 
with  Canadian 
grade  ewes. 

Lincoln  

Lbs. 
9  0 

Lbs. 
8  3 

Leicester  

9  25 

9  5 

Cotswold  

7  0 

8  0 

Highland  

7  25 

9  0 

Cheviot  

12  0 

9  0 

Oxford  

11  0 

10.5 

Shropshire  

9  5 

9  5 

Hampshire  

9  o 

10  0 

Southdown  

7  5 

10.5 

Merino  

8  0 

736.  Feeding  milk  to  lambs. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station5  the 
writer  endeavored  to  ascertain  whether  lambs  make  as  good  use 
of  food  given  them  as  other  farm  animals,  by  rearing  them  on 


1  See  Staz.  Sper.  Ag.  Ital.  23,  p.  572;  Analyst,  1893,  p.  248;  Fleischmann. 
ilchwirtschaft,  1893,  p.  5 

2  Die  Milch,  1871,     .  183. 


Milchwirtschaft,  1893,  p.  54. 

2  Die  Milch,  1871,  p.  1 

3  Concerning  yield  of  milk  from  sheep,  see  Weiske,  Journ.  f.  Landw., 


,  ,  .   .  ., 

1881,  p.  451;  Rodiczky,  Oestr.  Ldw.  Wochenbl.,  1886,  No.  47;  Besana, 
Analyst,  1893,  p.  248;  Goltz,  Landw.,  Ill,  p.  460;  Shepperd,  Agrl.  Science, 


VI,  p.  397. 
4  Re 


ipt.  1885. 
31 


0  Rept.  1890. 


482  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

cow's  milk  and  other  appropriate  feeding  stuffs.  The  four  lambs 
in  the  trial  were  from  large  high-grade  merino  ewes  sired  by  a 
pure-bred  Shropshire  ram.  They  were  vigorous,  growthy  speci- 
mens, ten  days  old  at  the  beginning  of  the  trial,  averaging  ten 
pounds  each  in  weight.  At  first  they  were  fed  cow's  milk  at 
blood  heat,  this  milk  constituting  their  only  food  for  twenty-one 
days,  after  which  skim  milk,  oats  and  green  clover  were  supplied. 
The  following  data  show  the  food  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain 

with  these  lambs,  beginning  at  10  days  of  age: 

Feed  per  100 
Period.  Feed  given.  Ibs.  gain. 

Pounds. 
First  period,  21  days  ........................    Cow's  milk  .........................      579 

YSweet  skim  milk  ................      830 

Second  period,  115  days  ...................  -j  Ground  oats  .......................      119 

(Green  clover  .......................      262 


At  the  close  of  the  last  period,  when  167  days  old,  the  lambs 
averaged  79  pounds  each,  showing  a  daily  gain,  including  birth 
weight,  of  nearly  one-half  pound  each.  (356,  659) 

The  heavy  gains  which  followed  the  use  of  cow's  milk  in  this 
trial  suggest  the  profitable  use  of  that  article  in  forcing  lambs 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  special  markets,  e.  g.,  "  Christmas 
lambs." 

737.  Lambs  compared  with  pigs.  —  At  the  Michigan  Agricult- 
ural College,1  Miles  fed  Essex  pigs,  eleven  days  old,  cow's  milk 
for  four  weeks,  with  the  results  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Cow's  milk  required  for  100  pounds  gain  by  young  Essex  pigs  — 
Michigan  Agricultural  College. 


1st  week. 
720  Ibs. 

2d  week. 
792  Ibs. 

3d  week. 
1,181  Ibs. 

4th  week. 
1,013  Ibs. 

Av.  <for  four 
weeks. 

925  Ibs. 

During  the  third  week  of  the  trial  the  pigs  were  "  off  feed," 
so  that  the  average  is  somewhat  too  high. 

Making  reasonable  allowance  for  this,  the  lambs  fed  in  the  "Wis- 
consin trial  noted  above  lead  in  the  gains  made  from  cow's  milk. 

1  Kept.  Mich.  Bd.  of  Agr.,  1866,  p.  61. 


Investigations  with  Sheep.  483 

738.  Relative  economy  of  lambs  and  pigs. —  Elsewhere  (831)  is 
shown  the  feed  required  by  pigs  before  weaning  for  100  pounds 
of  gain.  From  these  figures  and  those  reported  in  Article  736 
the  data  given  below  are  deduced. 

Feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  increase  by  young  pigs  and  lambs  — 
Wisconsin  Station. 


Feed. 

Pigs. 

Lambs. 

Meal... 

Lbs. 
231 

Lbs. 
119 

Skim  milk  

534 

830 

Green  clover  

262 

Meal  equivalent  

320 

284 

The  above  data  show  that  before  weaning  pigs  require  231 
pounds  of  meal  and  534  pounds  of  skim  milk  for  100  pounds  of 
gain.  Estimating  6  pounds  of  milk  equal  to  one  of  meal,  ac- 
cording to  the  Danish  formula,  (888)  we  have  320  pounds  of  meal 
or  equivalent  as  the  feed  for  100  pounds  of  gain  with  pigs  before 
weaning.  During  the  second  period  of  the  trial  with  lambs,  the 
following  quantities  of  feed  were  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain: 
119  pounds  of  meal,  830  of  milk  and  262  pounds  of  green  clover. 
Estimating  the  milk  at  the  same  equivalent  in  meal  as  before, 
and  ten  pounds  of  green  clover  equal  to  one  of  meal,  we  have 
284  pounds  of  grain  or  grain  equivalent  as  the  feed  required 
for  100  pounds  of  gain  with  young  lambs,  or  thirty-six  pounds 
less  than  that  required  by  the  pigs.  From  this  it  is  apparent 
that  lambs  make  at  least  as  economical  gains  for  feed  consumed 
as  do  pigs  of  the  same  age. 

739.  The  milking  qualities  of  ewes. —  Instructive  experiments 
were  conducted  by  Shepperd, l  at  the  Wisconsin  Station,  to  de- 
termine the  milking  qualities  of  high-grade  Shropshire  ewes. 
Lambs  at  foot  were  muzzled  except  at  regular  periods,  when  each 
was  allowed  to  take  milk  from  its  dam  while  the  attendant  drew 
milk  from  the  other  teat.  The'  amount  of  milk  yielded  by  the 
ewes  was  determined  by  weighing  each  lamb  on  a  delicate  scale 

1  Agricultural  Science,  VI,  pp.  397-405. 


484 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


immediately  before  and  after  sucking.     The  results  'are  shown 
below: 

Yield,  per  cent,  of  fat  and  specific  gravity  of  ewe's  milJc  —  Wisconsin 

Station. 


No.  of  ewe. 

No.  of  days 
tested. 

Daily  milk 
yield. 

Per  cent.  fat. 

Specific 
gravity. 

1 
2 
3 
4 

10 
6 
6 
6 

3.961bs. 
2.831bs. 
3.03  Ibs. 
2.51  Ibs. 

5.2 
5.4 

5.62 
6.25 

1.037 
1.049 
1.037 
1.036 

From  the  above  we  learn  that  four  ewes  gave  from  2.5  to  4 
pounds  of  milk  each  daily,  containing  from  5.2  to  6.25  per  cent, 
of  fat.  The  milk  was  of  high  specific  gravity,  showing  a  large 
content  of  solids.  (825) 

740.  Feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  milk. —  Ewes  fed  singly 
and  in  groups  of  two  were  given  weighed  quantities  of  feed  and 
water,  and  the  milk  yield  noted.  The  concentrates  fed  consisted 
of  three  parts  bran  and  one  part  oil  meal.  This  with  clover  hay 
of  good  quality,  though  a  little  coarse,  and  a  few  sliced  potatoes, 
constituted  the  ration.  The  results  were  as  follows: 

Quantity  of  feed  and  water  consumed  by  ewes  in  producing  100 
pounds  of  milk  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


No.  of  ewe. 

Grain. 

Clover  hay. 

Potatoes. 

Water. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1 

51 

61.6 

38 

293 

1} 

59 

55.5 

29 

417 

1} 

72 

63 

36 

404 

The  above  figures  are  helpful  to  the  student  in  comparing  the 
sheep  with  other  domestic  animals  as  an  economical  producer  of 
milk.  They  show  the  ewe  to  be  as  economical  as  the  cow  in  turn- 
ing hay  and  grain  into  milk.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
while  yielding  milk  the  ewe  is  also  growing  a  fleece.  (694) 

741.  Value  of  ewe's  milk  for  lamb  growing. —  In  conducting  his 
studies  with  ewes  and  lambs,  Shepperd  noted  the  amount  of  milk 


Investigations  with  Sheep. 


485 


consumed  by  lambs  and  their  gains,  with  the  results  reported 
in  the  table.  In  these  trials  the  lamb  was  kept  separate  from 
the  ewe,  except  when  sucking.  It  was  weighed  both  before  and 
after  sucking  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  milk  yielded  by  the  ewe. 
The  results  appear  in  the  following  table: 

Daily  gain,  and  gain  per  pound  of  ewe's  milk,  by  young  lambs  — 
Wisconsin  Station 


No.  of  lamb. 

Age  of  lamb. 

Gain  per  day. 

Gain  per  Ib.  of 
milk. 

Days. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1 

25 

.62 

.156 

2 

28 

.47 

.166 

3 

36 

.44 

.145 

4 

34 

.40 

.159 

Here  were  daily  gains  ranging  from  .4  to  over  .6  of  a  pound  per 
lamb,  each  pound  of  milk  producing  about  .15  of  a  pound  in- 
crease, live  weight.  Shepperd  concludes  his  report  with  the  state- 
ment that  the  gain  of  lambs,  during  the  first  month  of  their  lives 
at  least,  is  largely  controlled  by  the  quantity  of  milk  yielded  by 
the  ewe,  and  as  a  consequence  that  ewes  should  be  carefully  se- 
lected for  their  milking  qualities.  (525,  825-8) 

742.  Influence  of  shearing  on  milk  yield. —  Weiske1  conducted 
an  experiment  to  ascertain  the  influence  of  shearing  on  the  pro- 
duction of  milk  by  sheep.  A  Southdown-Merino  ewe  weighing 
77  pounds  was  fed  the  following  ration  directly  after  lambing: 
Meadow  hay,  1.1  pounds;  beets,  2.2  pounds;  ground  barley,  1.1 
pounds.  On  this  food  she  produced  the  following  quantities  of 
milk: 

Days  after  lambing,  May..     1,     2,     3,     4,    5,     6,     7,    8,     9. 
Pounds  of  milk 1.2,  1.4,  1.6,  1.7,  1.9,  2.0,  2.0,  2.2,  2.2. 

The  milk  contained  from  14.28  to  16.51  per  cent,  total  solids. 
During  days  following  the  last  one  noted  above,  the  milk  yield 
remained  at  2.2  pounds,  but  decreased,  when  the  ewe  was  shorn, 
May  20,  as  follows: 

May 20,    21,    22,    23,    24,    25. 

Pounds  of  milk   2.2,   2.0,   1.9,   1.7,  1.65,  1.57. 

1  Landwirth.,  1879,  p.  329. 


486 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


When  half  a  pound  of  flax  seed  was  added  to  the  ration  the  milk 
production  increased  as  follows: 

May 26,    27,    28,    29,    30,     31. 

Pounds  of  milk    1.5,   1.7,   2.0,   2.1,   2.0,   2.1. 

The  influence  of  the  flax  seed  in  overcoming  the  shock  to  the 
system  through  shearing  is  shown  by  a  return  to  the  normal  milk 
flow  through  its  use. 

743.  Soiling  ewes  and  lambs. —  Because  of  their  daintiness  and 
the  large  variety  of  plants  they  crop,  soiling  sheep  is  impracti- 
cable. Desiring  to  ascertain,  regardless  of  cost,  the  amount  of  food 
required  by  sheep  for  growth  in  summer,  the  writer  conducted 
the  trial  reported  below. l  Ten  large  Merino  ewes  were  chosen, 
each  with  a  lamb  at  foot  one  month  old,  when  the  trial  began, 
June  3.  The  lambs  were  vigorous,  their  sire  being  an  imported 
Shropshire.  With  patience  and  laborious  attention  to  every  de- 
tail, the  shepherd  fed  the  lot  successfully,  with  the  results  given 
in  the  following  table: 

Feed  required  for  100  pounds  gain  when  soiling  ewes  and  lambs  — 

Wisconsin  Station. 


Periods. 

Green 
clover. 

Green  corn 
fodder. 

Hay. 

Oats. 

JSwes  and  lambs,  before  weaning. 
1st  period  June  3  July  29  (57  days) 

Lbs. 
2  882 

Lbs. 
478 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
45 

2d  period  '  July  29-Sept  16  (49  days) 

555 

2,400 

45 

J^ambs  only,  after  weaning. 
3d  period  Sept  16-Oct  14  (28  days) 

915 

292 

413 

Feed  for  100  pounds  gain. 


Placing  a  fair  price  on  the  substances  consumed,  we  find  that 
100  pounds  of  increase  was  made  at  a  reasonable  cost.  When  we 
remember  that  the  ewes  would  have  preferred  to  do  their  own 
foraging,  and  would  have  eaten  many  weeds  and  weed  seeds  as 
well  as  better  forage,  we  must  conclude  that  evidence  points  to  the 
sheep  as  one  of  the  most  economical  meat  producers  on  the  farm. 

744.  Sheep  compared  with  lambs  for  fattening.— This -impor- 
tant subject  has  received  little  attention  at  our  Stations.  The  only 

1  Kept.  Wis.  Expt.  Sta.,  1890. 


Investigations  with  Sheep. 


487 


trial  reported  is  by  Hayes  of  the  Minnesota  Station. l  Ten  North 
Dakota  half-bred  Shropshire  lambs  were  fed  in  opposition  to  ten 
Montana  two-year-old  grade  Merino  wethers.  The  feed  consisted 
of  wheat  screenings  and  hay,  the  trial  lasting  eighty- four  days, 
with  results  given  below: 

Feeding  lambs  in  opposition  to  mature  wethers  —  Minnesota,  Station. 


Breed. 

Total 

feed. 

Av.  wt. 

at  be- 
srin- 

Total 
eraiD 

Daily 

u'ui  i) 

Feed  ft 
Ibs.  g 

>r!00 
ain. 

Grain. 

Hay. 

gm 

nmg. 

Grain. 

Hay. 

Dakota  Shropshire 
grade  lambs  

Lbs. 
1,776 

Lbs. 
609 

Lbs. 
74 

Lbs. 
244 

Lbs. 
.29 

Lbs. 

728 

Lbs. 
250 

Montana  two-year- 
old  Merino  weth- 
ers   

2,110 

542 

107 

172 

20 

1,227 

315 

We  observe  that  the  lambs  gave  the  usual  returns  from  wheat 
screenings  and  made  satisfactory  gains.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  wethers  gained  only  one-fifth  of  a  pound  per  day,  and  con- 
sumed 70  per  cent,  more  grain  for  a  given  gain  than  the  lambs. 
Possibly  when  more  trials  are  on  record,  the  feeding  qualities  of 
lambs  and  mature  sheep  will  show  less  difference  than  in  this 
case;  but  it  is  well  known  that  young  animals  give  the  best 
returns  for  feed  consumed. 

745.  Iowa  Station  breed  test. —  The  most  extensive  breed  test 
conducted  in  this  country  was  at  the  Iowa  Station2  by  Wilson 
and  Curtiss.  In  the  first  trial  there  were  ten  wether  lambs  in 
each  lot,  most  of  which  were  selected  in  Canada  especially  for 
the  trial.  The  Merinos  in  the  first  trial  were  of  the  National 
Delaine  strain,  raised  in  Iowa.  The.Eange  lambs  were  from 
Wyoming.  In  the  second  trial  there  were  nine  lambs  in  each  lot, 
mostly  from  Canada.  The  Merinos  in  this  triaj  were  of  the 
Bambouillet  strain,  bred  in  Ohio.  In  the  first  trial  the  feeding 
lasted  ninety  days  and  in  the  second  one  hundred  and  five  days, 
and  was  alike  in  all  particulars  for  each  lot.  In  closing  the  ex- 
periment the  lambs  were  shipped  to  Chicago  and  there  valued  by 

iRept.  1893. 
2  Buls.  33-35. 


488 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


experts  both,  before  and  after  slaughter.     The  leading  results  of 
the  trials  are  summarized  in  the  following  tables: 

Weight  and  gain  of  fattening  wether  lambs  in  breed  test — Iowa  Station. 


Breed. 

Av.  age. 

Av.  wt.  at 
beginning. 

Av.  daily 
gain. 

Dry  matter 
per  100  Ibs. 
gain. 

First 
trial. 

Sec- 
ond 
trial. 

First 
trial. 

Sec- 
ond 
trial. 

First 
trial. 

Sec- 
ond 
trial. 

First 
trial. 

Sec- 
ond 
trial. 

Southdown  

Days. 

374 
371 
374 
394 
345 
347 
362 
367 
362 

Days. 

289 
279 
279 

285 
291 

268 

277 
277 

Lbs. 

91 
101 
119 
117 
121 
118 
132 
101 
82 

Lbs. 

65 

88 
95 
92 
94 

86 
85 
83 

Lbs. 

.45 
.48 
.52 
.55 
.55 
.62 
.52 
.48 
29 

Lbs. 

.35 
.36 
.40 
.40 
.46 
.50 
.44 
.43 

Lbs. 

738 
718 
740 
740 
729 
653 
749 
785 
935 

Lbs. 

989 
1,026 
1,031 
1,036 
910 
848 
934 
989 

Shropshire  

Oxford  

Suffolk.    . 

Lincoln 

Cotswold.  .. 

Leicester  

Dorset  

Merino  

Rambouillet  

255 

74 

67 

.37 

1,029 
1,030 

Shropshire  ewes  

255 

.31 

Range... 

331 

71 

.37 

684 

Price  and  weight  of  dressed  carcass  and  of  fleece  in  breed  test  — 

Iowa  Station. 


Breed. 

Price  per  100 
Ibs.  live  wt. 

Per  cent, 
dressed  car- 
cass. 

Av.  wt.  of 
fleece. 

Value  of 
fleece  per 
head. 

First 
trial. 

Sec- 
ond 
trial. 

First 
trial. 

Sec- 
ond 
trial. 

First 

trial. 

Sec- 
ond 
trial. 

First 
trial. 

Sec- 
ond 
trial. 

Southdown  

$4  75 
4  63 
4  50 
4  25 
4  50 
4  50 
4  50 
3  75 
4  25 

$5  75 
5  60 
5  40 
5  00 
5  25 
5  25 
5  25 
5  50 

'"s'ob 

5  65 

55.4 
56.3 
55.2 
53.6 
55.7 
54.9 
57.8 
52.6 
51.8 

55.6 

55.26 
52.88 
50.08 
52.54 
51.08 
53.57 
51.87 
54.11 

*49  .57 
54.55 

Lbs. 

6.8 
8.8 
11.0 
7.7 
12.9 
12.7 
11.6 
6.8 
9.9 

"s'.T 

Lbs. 

4.6 
7.8 
8.0 
5.2 
10.4 
9.8 
8.9 
6.0 

6.6 

$0  75 
93 
1  44 
86 
1  79 
1  66 
1  76 
77 
1  00 

""67 

$0  64 
1  10 
1  16 
75 
1  56 
1  46 
1  33 
83 

Shropshire  

Oxford  

Suffolk  

Lincoln               * 

Cotswold. 

Leicester 

Dorset  

Merino  

Rambouillet  
Shropshire  ewes  

73 

Range.... 

4  50 

Investigations  with  Sheep. 


489 


746.  Lawes  and  Gilbert's  breed  test. — These  investigators  tested 
the  comparative  fattening  qualities  of  the  different  English  breeds 
of  sheep. l  Their  data  of  the  feed  requirements  for  gain  by  the 
various  breeds  during  fattening  are  as  follows: 

Feed  required  for  100  pounds  gain,  live  weight,  with  sheep  of  various 
breeds  —  Rothamsted  Station. 


Breeds. 

Av.  wt. 

at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Av.  total 
increase 
per  head. 

Feed  consumed  to  produce  100 
Ibs.  increase,  live  weight. 

OU  cake. 

Clover  hay. 

Swedes. 

Sussex. 

Lbs. 

88 
114 
95 
91 
101 
120 

Lbs. 

53 
70 
45 
43 
45 
64 

Lbs. 

297 
291 
264 
263 
264 
253 

Lbs. 

285 
261 
252 
250 
251 
217 

Lbs. 

3,836 
3,967 
3.725 
3,671 
3,761 
3,558 

Hamp  shire 

Cross-bred  wethers. 
Cross-bred  ewes  

Leicester 

Cotswold  

747.  Ontario  College  breed  test. —  At  the  Ontario  Agricultural 
College, 2  Brown  fed  grade  lambs  of  different  breeds  to  test  their 
relative  fattening  qualities,  the  trial  beginning  in  November  and 
closing  in  March,  with  the  following  results: 

Trial  with  grade  wether  lambs  of  several  breeds  —  Ontario  Agricultural 

College. 


Breed. 

Wt.  on 

entry. 

Gain. 

Feed  for  100  pounds  gain. 

Hay. 

Roots. 

Oil 
cake. 

Oats. 

Peas. 

Bran. 

Cotswold  

Lbs. 

106 
109 
95 
122 
120 

Lbs. 

41 
31 
41 
43 
37 

Lbs. 

493 
465 
341 

386 
368 

Lbs. 

920 
1,239 
937 
1,007 
1,139 

Lbs. 

195 
252 

188 
200 
235 

Lbs. 

136 
181 
134 
130 
157 

Lbs. 

273 

358 
268 
263 
315 

Lbs. 

83 
110 
80 
81 
93 

Leicester  

Oxford 

Shropshire  
»Southdown  

Average. 

110 

39 

411 

1,048 

214 

148 

295 

89 

The  results  of  these  trials  present  interesting  studies,  but  should 
not  be  regarded  as  determining  the  relative  merits  of  the  several 
breeds. 


'  Jour.  Roy.  Agrl.  Soc.,  1851, 1852, 1855;  Rothamsted  Memoirs,  Vol.  II. 
2  Rept.  1885. 


490 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


748.  "  Self-feed  "  for  fattening  lambs.—  Some  feeders  follow  the 
practice  of  placing  quantities  of  grain  sufficient  to  last  a  week  or 
more  in  a  box  arranged  so  that  the  grain  passes  down  into  the 
feed  trough  as  rapidly  as  the  sheep  consume  the  supply  below. 
The  purpose  of  the  i i  self-feed  "  is  to  save  the  time  and  labor  of 
the  shepherd,  and  also  to  allow  the  animals  to  have  grain  before 
them  at  all  times.  Trials  with  self- feed  are  reported  from  the 
Michigan  Station1  with  ten  lambs  in  each  lot,  and  Minnesota  Sta- 
tion2 with  eight  lambs  in  each  lot,  the  results  being  given  below: 

Trials  with  u  self -feed"  for  fattening  lambs  —  Michigan  and  Minne- 
sota Stations. 


Feed  given. 

Wt.at 
begin- 
ning. 

Gain. 

Daily 
gain. 

Feed  for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Grain. 

Hay. 

Hay. 

Grain. 

Michigan. 

Self-feed. 
Corn  

Lbs. 

1,506 

1,838 

1,579 
1,703 

3,023 
2,225 

Lbs. 

961 

959 

1,097 
1,124 

432 
753 

Lbs. 

82 
80 

82 
80 

84 

78 

Lbs. 

248 
,237 

328 
267 

333 
300 

Lbs. 

.23 

22 

.31 
.25 

.35 
.32 

Lbs. 

387 
405 

334 
421 

130 
251 

Lba 

607 
776 

481 
689 

908 
742 

Corn  and  bran  

Regular  feed. 
Corn 

Corn  and  bran  . 

Minnesota. 
Self-feed. 
Wheat  screenings.  .  .  . 
Regular. 
Wheat  screenings.  .  .  . 

Mumford, 8  reviewing  his  studies  with  the  self- feed,  writes: 
"The  experiments  are  quite  conclusive,  extending  as  they  do 
over  a  period  of  three  years  under  varying  conditions  and  with 
different  lots  of  sheep.  We  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  fatten- 
ing lambs  by  means  of  a  self- feed  is  an  expensive  practice,  and  that 
economy  of  production  requires  more  attention  to  the  variation  in 
the  appetites  of  the  animals  than  can  be  given  by  this  method. ' ' 

749.  Fattening  shorn  lambs. —  At  the  Michigan  Station, 4  Muni- 
ford  divided  a  bunch  of  twenty  lambs  into  two  lots  of  ten  each. 
One  lot  was  shorn  and  the  other  left  unshorn,  both  receiving 
similar  treatment  as  to  feed  and  care.  The  grain  consisted  of 
corn  and  wheat,  equal  parts  by  weight,  fed  with  good  clover  hay. 

1  Bui.  113.        2  Bui.  44.        3  Bui.  128,  Mich.  Expt.  Sta.        *  Bui.  128. 


Investigations  with  Sheep. 


491 


The  trial  began  in  November,  lasting  thirteen  weeks.  Both  lots 
were  kept  in  a  barn,  the  window  in  the  pen  containing  unshorn 
lambs  being  kept  open,  while  that  in  the  pen  of  the  shorn  lambs 
was  kept  closed.  In  spite  of  this  care  the  shorn  lambs  suffered 
from  the  cold.  The  result  of  the  trial  is  tabulated  below: 

Feeding  shorn  and  unshorn  lambs  —  Michigan  Station. 


Feed* 

saten. 

Av.  wt. 

at  be- 

Total 
o-ain 

Daily 
srain 

Feed  foi 
ga] 

•  100  Ibs. 
in. 

Grain. 

Hay. 

gining. 

Grain. 

Hay. 

Unshorn  
Shorn  

Lbs. 

1,164 
1,266 

Lbs. 

1,173 
1,336 

Lbs. 

85 
84 

Lbs. 

230 
161 

Lbs. 

.25 
.18 

Lbs. 

506 

786 

Lbs. 

510 

830 

The  shorn  lambs  ate  more  food,  drank  less  water  and  made  30 
per  cent,  less  gain  than  the  unshorn  lambs. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station,1  Craig  studied  the  subject  during 
four  years,  the  first  trial  beginning  in  December,  and  subsequent 
ones  earlier,  the  last  two  beginning  in  October.  As  with  Mum- 
ford,  Craig's  results  were  unfavorable  to  shearing  fattening  lambs 
after  winter  begun,  while  they  favored  early  shearing.  His  con- 
clusions are: 

"1.  Fall  shearing  is  a  beneficial  practice  to  prepare  lambs  that 
are  six  months  old  for  the  early  winter  market. 

"  2.  To  secure  the  benefits  of  fall  shearing  it  should  be  done 
early  in  the  season,  at  least  not  later  than  October. 

"3.  When  done  under  such  circumstances,  the  removal  of  the 
fleece  hastens  the  fattening,  and  the  gain  is  made  at  a  slightly 
cheaper  rate. 

"4.  The  results  show  that  by  shearing  in  the  fall  and  again  in 
the  spring  more  wool  is  obtained  than  from  a  single  spring 
shearing,  but  the  market  value  of  the  two  clippings  is  not  any 
greater  than  that  of  the  single  clipping  in  which  the  fibers  of  the 
fleece  are  longer. 

11 5.  When  the  lambs  are  to  be  fattened  during  three  or  four  of 
the  winter  months,  there  appears  to  be  no  practical  advantage  in 
fall  shearing. " 

1  Kept.  1894. 


492 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


750.  Exposure  versus  confinement. —  Next  to  feed,  the  feeding 
place  and  the  method  of  confinement  are  of  importance  in  fatten- 
ing sheep.  At  the  Minnesota  Station, l  Shaw  fed  four  lots  of 
eight  lambs  each  under  various  conditions  as  to  confinement.  Lot 
I  was  kept  out  of  doors  continuously  in  a  yard  sheltered  from  the 
wind  by  a  low  building  at  one  side.  Lots  II  and  III  were  con- 
fined in  yards  with  an  open  shed  for  shelter.  Lot  IV  was  kept 
in  a  compartment  of  the  barn  having  one  large  window  facing 
the  east,  for  ventilation.  The  fed  for  all  lots  was  the  same.  The 
table  below  presents  the  results: 

Effect  of  various  methods  of  confinement  on  fattening  lambs  —  Min- 
nesota Station. 


Aver- 

\\r 

Feed  fo] 

r  100  Ibs. 

gain. 

Where  fed. 

age 
weight. 

daily 
gain. 

Wheat 
screen- 
ings. 

Oil 
meal. 

Hay. 

Lot  I,  out  of  doors  

Lbs. 
80 

Lbs. 

.28 

Lbs. 

804 

Lbs. 
90 

Lbs. 
316 

Lot  II,  in  lot  with  shed.... 
Lot  III,  in  lot  with  shed.... 
Lot  IV  in  stable 

84 
78 
78 

.36 

.32 

28 

817 
668 

722 

91 

74 
80 

127 
251 

283 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  lot  kept  out  of  doors  made  as  rapid 
gains  as  that  confined  in  the  stable,  but  required  somewhat  more 
feed  for  a  given  gain.  Lots  II  and  III,  kept  in  the  shed,  made 
the  largest  and  Lot  III  the  cheapest  gain. 

At  the  Michigan  Station, 2  Mumford  kept  one  lot  of  lambs  con- 
tinuously in  an  open  yard  in  winter  where  they  were  sometimes 
drenched  with  rain  and  covered  with  snow.  A  second  lot  was 
fed  in  a  barn,  at  no  time  being  allowed  to  go  outside.  The  re- 
sults were  slightly  in  favor  of  the  lambs  kept  indoors,  but  the 
difference  was  far  less  than  would  be  supposed  by  persons  who 
are  not  familiar  with  the  hardiness  of  fattening  sheep.  The  re- 
sults of  this  trial  do  not  show  that  rain  and  snow  are  beneficial 
to  the  fattening  sheep,  but  rather  that  indoor  confinement  may  be 
as  damaging  as  outdoor  exposure.  (561,  630) 

i  Bui.  44.        ~~«  Bui.  128. 


Investigations  with  Sheep. 


493 


751.  Water  drank. —  Several  Stations  have  weighed  the  water 
drank  by  lambs  while  fattening.  The  following  table  presents  a 
range  of  results  helpful  to  those  seeking  information  on  this 
point: 

Water  drank  ~by  lambs  on  various  rations  during  fattening  —  Mich- 
igan and  Cornell  Stations. 


Grain  fed. 

Weight  at  be-  1 
ginning. 

1 

>» 

1 

Water  drank 
daily. 

Feed  and  water  per  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

&d 
s« 
2s 

11 
& 

Remarks. 

Grain. 

£ 

m 

Boots. 

1 

Corn1  .  . 

Lbs. 
82 
80 

80 
85 
84 

81 
84 

59 
56 

Lbs. 

.31 
.25 

.28 
,22 
!l8 

.38 
.13 

.19 

'.22 

Lbs. 

3.02 
3.85 

4.83 
1.35 
2.03 

1.87 
.40 

3.02 
1.10 

Lbs. 

481 
639 

526 

583 
786 

406 

505 
470 

Lbs. 

334 
421 

394 
530 
830 

243 
1,018 

457 

486 

Lbs. 

1,146" 

685 
4,900 

880* 
501 

Lbs. 

966 
1,515 

1,740 
599 
1,148 

495 
314 

1,598 
505 

Lbs. 

702 
913 

804 
965 
1,397 

641 
1,516 

1,033 
880 

Confined. 
Confined. 

Confined. 
Freedom  of  yard. 
Shorn  2d  week  of 
experiment. 
Confined. 
Confined. 

Warm  barn. 

%  corn,  %  bran  1  
8     wheat,    %    oil 
meal  * 

%  corn,  %  wheat  3... 
%  corn,  %  wheat  "... 

Corn  and  roots  *  
Sugar  beets  2  

1    part  oil   meal,  2 
parts  cotton-seed 
meal,  4  pts.  bran  3 
7  parts  corn,  1  part 
oats3  

*  Silage. 

752.  Weight  of  fattened  sheep.—  At  the  Ontario  College,4 
Brown  reports  the  following  weights  of  fat  shorn  shearlings  (sheep 
once  shorn)  : 


Live  weight  of  fat  shorn  wethers  at  44$ 

College. 


—  Ontario  Agricultural 


Average 
weight  of 
tops. 

Average 
weight  of 
culls. 

Mean 
weight. 

Daily 
gain  per 

Leicester  high  grades  

Lbs. 
242 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
242 

Lbs. 
54 

Leicester  grades  

189 

189 

40 

Oxford  grades  

186 

147 

167 

37 

Shropshire  grades  

185 

148 

167 

.37 

Southdown  °Tades  

165 

133 

149 

33 

Merino  grades  .*.. 

138 

138 

31 

Mean  

184 

175 

39 

Bui.  113,  Mich.  Sta. 
Bui.  47,  Cornell  Sta. 


2  Bui.  128,  Mich.  Sta. 
4  Kept.  1882. 


494 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  weight  of  fat  sheep  of  the  several  breeds  competing  for 
prizes  at  the  American  Fat-Stock  Show,  Chicago,  during  the  years 
1878  to  1884,  both  inclusive, 3  are  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Weight  of  fat  sheep  of  various  breeds  —  American  Fat-Stock  Show, 

Chicago. 


Breed. 

Wether 
2yrs. 
old  or 
over. 

Wether 
lyr. 
and  un- 
der 2 
yrs. 

Wether 
under  1 
yr.  old. 

Ewe  2 
yrs.  or 
over. 

Ewel 

yr- 

and 
under 
2  yrs. 

Ewe 

under 

o?dF' 

Cotswold  

Lbs. 

258 
263 
205 
223 
137 
221  ' 

Lbs. 

199 
239 
172 
181 
112 
188 

Lbs. 

142 
151 
119 
117 
79 
118 

Lbs. 

273 
238 
169 
216 
101 
213 

Lbs. 

235 
204 
130 
208 
73 
165 

Lbs. 

127 
112 
97 
87 
52 
122 

Other  long  wools  

Southdown  

Other  middle  wools  

American  merino 

Grades  or  crosses 

753.  Daily  gain  for  various  breeds. —  The  best  daily  gains2  with 
fat  wethers  at  the  American  Fat-Stock  Show,  Chicago,  between 
the  years  1879  and  1882,  both  inclusive,  are  as  follows: 

Weight  and  daily  gain  of  wether  making  the  most  rapid  gain  —  Ameri- 
can Fat-Stock  Show,  Chicago. 

Wethers  two  and  under  three  years. 


Year. 

Breed. 

Age  in 
days. 

Weight 

Av.  gain  per 
day  since 
birth. 

1879... 

969 

Lbs. 
300 

Lbs. 
.31 

1881... 

Cotswold  

933 

281 

.30 

Wethers  one  and  under  two  years. 


1878 

Cotswold                         

535 

220 

41 

1880 

Grade  Oxford       

612 

232 

38 

1882 

Leicester          

600 

295 

49 

Wethers  under  one 

year. 

1878 

170 

152 

89 

1881... 

Southdown  

213 

193 

90 

1882 

Leicester                                

235 

178 

75 

1  Trans.  Dept.  Agr.  111.,  1884,  p.  228. 


2Loc.  cit. 


Investigations  with  SJwep. 


495 


754.  Weight  of  carcass. —  Lawes  and  Gilbert1  found  in  trials 
with  sheep  of  the  various  breeds  the  following  weights  of  dressed 
carcass  with  well-fattened  animals: 

Marketable  produce  for  each  100  pounds  unfasted  iceiglit  of  sheep1  in- 
cluding wool  —  Rothamsted  Station. 


Breed. 

Mutton 
(less  tallow). 

Wool. 

Lbs.    Ozs. 
53         3 

Lbs.    Ozs. 
4         0 

Hampshires 

53         6 

3         7 

(Jross-bred  wethers              .      

51          2 

4        10 

50        10 

5         6    . 

Leicester's              >  

50        11 

5         9 

53          6 

5         4 

Eelative  to  live  and  dead  weights,  the  conclusions  of  these  in- 
vestigators are: 

11  Hoggets  or  tegs  (ewes  or  wethers  under  twelve  months  old) 
in  a  lean  or  store  condition  will  contain  about  one-half  of  their, 
weight  carcass,  and  about  one-half  offal. 

"  Shorn  sheep,  sufficiently  fat  for  the  market,  will  contain 
about  56  pounds  of  carcass  in  every  100  pounds  of  the  unfasted 
live  weight. 

"Sheep  in  an  ordinary  state  of  fatness  yield  from  7  pounds  to  14 
pounds  of  offal  or  loose  fat  per  head,  according  to  breed  and  size; 
the  long- wools  giving  the  least,  and  the  Downs  the  most." 

755.  Tat-Stock  Show  test. —  At  the  American  Fat-Stock  Show 
in  1884, 2  animals  competing  for  prizes  were  slaughtered,  with  the 
results  shown  in  the  following  table: 
Slaughter  tests  with  sheep  at  the  American  Fat-Stock  Show,  Chicago. 


Age  of  animals. 

Number. 

Live  weight 
at  slaughter. 

Weight  of 
dressed  car- 
cass. 

Per  cent. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

T  wo  years  or  over  
One  year,  under  two... 
Under  one  year  

2 
4 

2 

248 
171 
99 

156 
105 
57 

63 
61 
57 

1  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1851,  p.  414;  Rothamsted  Memoirs,  1852,  Vol.  II, 
p.  175.  2  Breeder's  Gazette,  1884,  p.  824. 


496 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


756.  Shrinkage  in  shipping. —  Cooke,  of  the  Colorado  Station,  * 
after  fattening  selected  Western  sheep  and  lambs  on  alfalfa  hay, 
wheat,  corn  and  roots,  shipped  them  from  Fort  Collins,  Colorado, 
to  Chicago,  with  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Shrinkage  and  dressed  weight  of  Western  sheep,  shipped  from  Colorado 
to  Chicago  —  Colorado  Station. 


Kind. 

Weight  at 
Fort 
Collins. 

Weight  at 
Chicago 
stock 
yard. 

Per  cent, 
shrinkage 

Per  cent, 
dressed 
carcass  to 
Chicago 
weight. 

Per  cent, 
tallow  to 
Chicago 
weight. 

AVestern  lambs  

Lbs. 
149.0 

Lbs. 
135 

9  4 

57.0 

9 

Western  wethers  ... 
Mexican  sheep  

168.0 
99.5 

153 
92 

9.0 
6.5 

55.0 
53.5 

8.3 
8.5 

By  the  above  we  learn  that  selected  Western  lambs  weighing 
149  pounds  at  Fort  Collins,  Colorado,  shrunk  14  pounds,  or 
9.4  per  cent.,  on  shipment  to  Chicago.  These  lambs  dressed 
57  per  cent,  of  their  Chicago  weight,  9  per  cent,  of  which  was 
tallow;  that  is,  for  each  100  pounds  live  weight  there  were  9 
pounds  of  tallow  and  48  pounds  of  carcass  ready  for  the  butcher's 
block. 


1  Bui.  32. 


CHAPTEE  XXX. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  FATTENING  SHEEP — WOOL  PRODUCTION. 

I.  Feeds  and  Fattening. 

757.  Indian  corn. —  Since  a  large  proportion  of  the  sheep  in 
this  country  are  fattened  on  corn,  both  student  and  stockman 
are  interested  in  learning  the  quantity  of  this  grain  required  for 
a  given  gain.  In  the  table  below  are  presented  the  results  of  five 
trials  with  corn  for  fattening  lambs  at  three  Stations.  The  aver- 
age of  these  trials  should  constitute  reliable  data  as  to  the  quan- 
tity of  corn  and  hay  required  to  produce  one  hundred  pounds  of 
gain  with  lambs. 

Fattening  lambs  on  corn  and  hay  —  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota  Stations. 


Where  fed. 

Days 
fed 

Feed 

eaten. 

Av. 

wt.  at 
be°tiii- 

Gain. 

Av. 

daily 

Feed 
Ibs. 

for  100 
gain. 

Corn. 

Hay. 

ning. 

gam. 

Corn. 

Hay. 

Michigan  * 

105 

Lbs. 
1  579 

Lbs. 
1,097 

Lbs. 
82 

Lbs. 
328 

Lbs. 
31 

Lbs. 
481 

Lbs. 
334 

Michigan*     

105 

1,506 

961 

82 

248 

.24 

607 

387 

Michigan  f  

91 

1,208 

1,142 

85 

233 

.26 

518 

490 

Wisconsin  £  

56 

428 

288 

86 

104 

.37 

411 

277 

Minnesota.  § 

84 

1  103 

849 

71 

211 

.25 

523 

402 

Av.  of  5  trials  

88 

1,165 

887 

81 

225 

.29 

507 

378 

*  Bui.  113.     |  Bui.  128.     J  Kept.  1895.     g  Bui.  31. 

In  the  Wisconsin  trial  there  were  5  lambs;  in  the  other  trials 
there  were  10  lambs. 

From  this  table  we  learn  that  lambs  averaging  81  pounds  each 
during  feeding  trials  averaging  13  weeks  in  length  made  gains 
of  three- tenths  of  a  pound  per  head  daily,  requiring  about  500 
pounds  of  corn  and  400  pounds  of  hay  for  100  pounds  of  increase, 
live  weight,  (566,  845) 
32 


498 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


758.  Dry  versus  soaked  corn  for  sheep. —  Mueller1  fed  sheep 
on  dry  and  soaked  corn.     Twenty  sheep  nearly  two  years  old 
were  fed  1.4  pounds  of  whole  corn  per  day  per  head,  ten  animals 
receiving  the  grain  dry  and  ten  receiving  it  soaked  with  as  much 
water  as  it  would  absorb.     At  the  end  of  a  period  of  ten  weeks 
the  live  weight  of  the  sheep  fed  dry  corn  had  increased  6. 6  pounds 
more  per  head  than  the  lot  receiving  soaked  corn;  after  four  weeks 
more,  the  live  weight  of  the  former  lot  had  increased  12.1  pounds 
per  head  more  than  the  second  lot.     The  author  explains  the 
poorer  utilization  of  the  soaked  corn  by  the  decreased  secretion 
of  saliva  when  grain  so  treated  was  fed.   (375) 

759.  Wheat. —  The  low  price  ruling  for  wheat  in  recent  years 
has  stimulated  much  interest  in  its  use  for  fattening  sheep.     A 
trial  at  the  Michigan  Station2  by  Mumford,  in  which  wheat  was 
fed,  in  opposition  to  corn,  to  lots  of  ten  lambs  each,  is  summar- 
ized in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  lambs  wheat  in  opposition  to  corn  —  Michigan  Station. 


Grain. 

?eT 

Feed  eaten. 

Av.  wt.  at 
begin- 
ning. 

Gain. 

Av. 

daily 
gain. 

Feed  for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Grain. 

Hay. 

Grain. 

Hay. 

Corn  

91 
91 

Lbs. 

1,208 
1,201 

Lbs. 

1,142 
1,199 

Lbs. 

85 
85 

Lbs. 

233 
217 

Lbs. 

.26 
.24 

Lbs. 

518 
553 

Lbs. 

490 
552 

Wheat  . 

By  the  above  we  learn  that  the  lambs  fed  wheat  required  more 
feed  for  a  given  gain  and  did  not  make  quite  so  large  daily  gains 
as  those  fed  corn.  (166-8,  852) 

760.  English  experience  with  wheat. —  Voelcker  conducted  three 
trials  at  the  Woburn  (England)  Station  to  ascertain  the  feeding 
value  of  wheat  as  a  grain  for  fattening  sheep. 8  Wheat  meal  was 
found  unsatisfactory  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  meal  adhered  to 
the  jaws  of  the  sheep  when  eating  it,  forming  a  sticky  mass. 
Whole  wheat  was  substituted,  and  the  effect  was  remarkable;  the 
sheep  which  would  barely  clean  up  the  half-pound  allowance  of 

1  Braunschw.  Landw.  Zeit.,  1885,  p.  209;  Jahresb.  Agr.  Chemie,  1885, 
p.  576. 

2  Bui.  128.  8  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.,  1886^88. 


Experiments  in  Fattening  Sheep. 


499 


wheat  meal  readily  ate  three-fourths  of  a  pound  of  whole  wheat. 
Accordingly,  during  the  remainder  of  the  first  and  the  two  fol- 
lowing trials,  whole  wheat  was  fed.  The  following  table  summar- 
izes the  results  of  the  last  two  trials: 

Feeding  whole  icheat  to  sheep  —  Woburn  (England)  Station. 


X 

Days 
fed. 

Av. 

wt.  at 

begin- 
ning. 

Feed  given  daily. 

Av. 

gain 
per 
day. 

Swede 
turnips. 

Chaffed 
hay. 

Wheat. 

First  trial          

95 
112 

Lbs. 

156 
119 

Lbs. 

28 
20 

Lbs. 

j 

Lbs. 

I 

Lbs. 

.3 

.4 

Second  trial    

These  gains  are  satisfactory  considering  the  length  of  the  trials. 
Voelcker  concludes  from  three  seasons'  experiments  with  wheat> 
oil  meal,  and  cotton -seed  meal,  that  whole  wheat  produced  the 
cheapest  gain  at  current  prices  for  stock  foods  in  England. 

761.  Oats. —  At  the  Michigan  Station, l  Mumford  compared  oats 
with  corn  in  a  feeding  trial  lasting  119  days  with  ten  lambs  in 
each  lot,  averaging  83  pounds,  with  results  presented  in  the  table: 
Feeding  oats  in  opposition  to  corn  —  Michigan  Station. 


Grain. 

Feed  eaten. 

Av. 

wt.  at 
begin- 
ning. 

Gain. 

Av. 

daily 
gain. 

Feed  for  100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Grain 

Hay. 

Roots 

Grain 

Hay. 

Boots 

Oats  

Lbs. 

1,963 
1,757 

Lbs. 

1,694 
1,675 

Lbs. 

1,190 
1,190 

Lbs. 

83 
83 

Lbs. 

379 
443 

Lbs. 

.31 
.37 

Lbs. 

518 
396 

Lbs. 

447 
378 

Lbs. 

314 

269 

Corn  

In  this  trial  the  oats  did  not  give  .as  large  daily  gains  as  did 
the  corn;  further,  it  required  100  pounds  or  25  per  cent,  more 
oats  than  corn  for  a  given  gain.  Since  500  pounds  of  corn  is 
shown  to  be  the  usual  grain  requirement  for  100  pounds  of  gain 
with  lambs,  it  is  probable  that  further  trials  will  show  oats  not 
far  below  corn  in  value,  though  they  can  hardly  equal  it. 

762.  Bran. —  At  the  Michigan  Station, 2  Mumford  fed  corn  in 
opposition  to  bran  during  a  period  of  119  days,  to  two  lots  of  ten 

1  Bui.  107.  2  Bui.  107. 


500 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


lambs  averaging  83  pounds  in  weight,  with,  the  results  given  in 
the  table: 
Feeding  trial  with  bran  and  corn  in  opposition  —  Michigan  Station. 


Grain. 

Feed  eaten. 

Av. 

wt.  at 
begin- 
ing. 

Gain. 

Av. 

daily 
gain. 

Feed  for  100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Grain 

Hay. 

Roots 

Grain 

Hay. 

Roots 

Corn  

Lbs. 

1,757 
1,779 

Lbs. 

1,675 

1,728 

Lbs. 

1,190 
1,190 

Lbs. 

83 

82 

Lbs. 

443 
242 

Lbs. 

.37 
.20 

Lbs. 

396 
735 

Lbs. 

378 
714 

Lbs. 

269 
492 

Bran 

"We  learn  from  this  trial  that  it  required  nearly  twice  as  much 
bran  as  corn  for  the  same  gain.  (175) 

763.  Wheat  screenings. —  At  the  Minnesota  Station, J  Shaw  fed 
lambs  wheat  screenings  in  opposition  to  wheat.  Concerning  the 
former  he  wrote:  "The  screenings  were  under  rather  than  over 
the  average  in  quality,  having  but  little  wheat  of  any  kind  in 
them." 

One-tenth  of  the  ration  consisted  of  oil  meal.    There  were  eight 
lambs  in  each  lot,  the  trial  lasting  117  days,  with  results  given 
below: 
Feeding  wheat  screenings  in  opposition  to  wheat  —  Minnesota  Station. 


Grain. 

Feed  eaten. 

Wt. 

at 
begin- 
ning. 

Gain. 

Daily 
gain. 

Feed  for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Grain 

Hay. 

Grain 

Hay. 

Wheat.  

Lbs. 

1.758 

2,225 

Lbs. 

772 
753 

Lbs. 

80 

78 

Lbs. 

278 
300 

Lbs. 

.30 
.32 

Lbs. 

631 

742 

Lbs. 

277 
251 

Screenings  

By  the  above  we  learn  that  it  required  about  27  per  cent,  more 
wheat  screenings  than  wheat  to  produce  a  given  gain.  The  high 
feeding  value  of  screenings  for  sheep  in  comparison  with  their 
cost  in  the  Northwest  is  illustrated  in  this  trial.  (169) 

764.  Shrunken  wheat,  wild  buckwheat  and  pigeon-grass  seed. — 
At  the  Minnesota  Station, 2  Hayes  fed  four  lots  of  ten  lambs  each 
for  84  days  on  rations  of  cracked  corn,  small  wheat,  wild  buck- 

1  Bui.  44.  2  Rept.  1893. 


Experiments  in  Fattening  Sheep. 


501 


wheat  and  pigeon-grass  seed,  respectively,  with  the  results  pre- 
sented in  the  table  below: 

Feeding  cracked  corn,  small  wheat,  wild  "buckwheat  and  pigeon-grass 
seed  —  Minnesota  Station. 


Grain. 

Feed 

eaten. 

Av. 

wt.  at 
begin- 

Gain. 

Daily 
gain. 

Feed 
Ibs. 

for  100 
gain. 

Grain 

Hay. 

ning. 

Grain 

Hay. 

Cracked  corn 

Lbs. 
1  103 

Lbs. 
849 

Lbs. 
71 

Lbs. 
211 

Lbs. 
25 

Lbs. 
523 

Lbs. 
402 

Small  wheat  

1,505 

742 

74 

202 

24 

745 

367 

Pigeon-grass  seed  

1,975 

427 

74 

226 

27 

874 

189 

Wild  buckwheat  

1,934 

591 

75 

237 

.28 

816 

249 

The  table  shows  that  corn  gave  normal  results,  523  pounds  of 
that  grain  and  402  pounds  of  hay  making  100  pounds  of  gain. 
Of  the  other  mill  and  elevator  by-products  there  were  required  for 
100  pounds  gain  with  lambs  the  following  amounts:  small  wheat, 
745  pounds;  wild  buckwheat,  816;  pigeon-grass  seed,  874  pounds. 

765.  Corn  silage  versus  roots. —  At  the  Michigan  Station,1 
Mumford  compared  corn  silage  with  roots  for  fattening  lambs, 
with  eight  in  each  lot  in  the  first  trial  and  twenty  in  each  lot  in 
the  second.  In  the  first  trial,  lasting  84  days,  sugar  beets  and 
com  silage  were  used,  and  in  the  second,  lasting  119  days,  ruta- 
baga turnips  and  corn  silage  were  fed.  In  the  first  trial  the 
lambs  weighed  87  pounds,  and  in  the  second  73  pounds  each,  at 
the  beginning.  The  grain  fed  consisted  of  two  parts  oats  and 
one  part  bran  in  the  first  trial,  and  equal  parts  of  oats  and  bran 
in  the  second.  The  table  shows  the  results: 

Feeding  corn  silage  in  opposition  to  roots  —  Michigan  Station. 


Trial. 

Feed  eaten. 

Gain. 

Av. 

daily 
gain. 

Feed  for  100  Ibs.  gain. 

Grain 

Hay. 

Roots 

Silage 

Grain 

Hay. 

Roots 

Silage 

First... 
Second 

Lbs. 

672 
672 
2,345 
2,345 

Lbs. 

672 
536 
2.439 
1,974 

Lbs. 
3,172 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

288 
240 
589 
586 

Lbs. 

.43 
.36 
.25 
.25 

Lbs, 

233 
280 
398 
400 

Lbs. 

233 
223 
413 
337 

Lbs. 
1,101 

Lbs. 

3,014 

1,256 

13,413 

2,277 

8,108 

1,383 

1  Buls.  84, 107. 


502  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

In  the  first  trial,  where  sugar  beets  were  fed  in  opposition  to 
corn  silage,  roots  gave  somewhat  better  results,  while  in  the  sec- 
ond, where  ruta-bagas  were  fed,  the  results  were  slightly  in  favor 
of  the  corn  silage.  Until  further  trials  we  may  consider  roots 
and  corn  silage  practically  equal  in  feeding  value  for  fattening 
lambs.  Feeding  roots  or  silage  cut  down  the  amount  of  grain 
required  in  fattening  the  lambs  25  to  40  per  cent.  (325,  393-5) 

766.  Sugar  beets. —  At  the  Michigan  Station,1  Mumford  fed 
sugar  beets  and  hay  only  to  lots  of  ten  lambs  each  for  91  days, 
with  the  following  results: 

Feeding  sugar  beets  and  hay  to  fattening  lambs  —  Michigan 

Station. 

Pounds. 

Beets  fed 5,685 

Hay  fed 1,181 

Average  weight  at  beginning 84 

Total  gain 116 

Average  daily  gain .13 

Feed  for  100  pounds  of  gain  — 

Hoots 4,600 

Hay 1,018 

We  observe  that  the  lambs  made  only  half  the  usual  daily  gain 
when  a  full  allowance  of  grain  was  given.  Placing  a  value  on 
roots  proportionate  to  cost  of  production,  we  find  that  the  use 
of  roots  without  grain  for  lambs  cannot  be  recommended,  since 
root  feeding  is  more  expensive  than  a  combination  of  roots  and 
grain.  (320) 

767.  Rape. —  At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College, 2  Shaw  di- 
vided a  field  of  rape  into  three  plats  of  an  acre  each,  by  means 
of  hurdle  fences,  and  placed  fifteen  lambs  on  each  acre.     To  the 
lambs  on  the  first  acre  no  additional  feed  was  given  j  those  on  the 
second  received  half  a  pound  of  oats  each  daily;  those  on  the 
third  were  allowed  an  adjoining  pasture,  thus  being  provided 
with  rape  and  grass  at  the  same  time.     The  acre  of  rape  lasted 
the  fifteen  lambs  fifty-eight  days  in  each  instance,  though  the 

'  Bui.  128. 
'  Kept.  1891. 


Experiments  in  Fattening  Sheep. 


503 


second  acre  was  not  eaten  as  bare  as  the  others, 
summarized  below: 


The  results  are 


Feeding  three  acres  of  rape  with  15  lambs  to  each  acre  —  Ontario 
Agricultural  College. 


Acre  I. 
Rape 
only. 

Acre  II. 
Rape  and 
oats. 

Acre  III. 
Rape  and 
pasture. 

Weight  of  15  lambs  at  commencement... 
Average  weight  of  lambs 

Lbs. 

1,069. 
71 

Lbs. 
1,065. 

Lbs. 

1,064. 
71 

Weight  of  lambs  at  close  

1.413 

1,413 

1,484 

Increased  weight  from  1  acre  of  rape  

344 

348. 

420 

Average  individual  increase  

22.93 

23.67 

28.0 

Average  daily  increase 

39 

40 

47 

In  this  trial  the  oats  did  not  increase  the  returns,  while  the  past- 
ure proved  very  beneficial.  In  another  trial1  six  lambs  feeding 
on  one-sixth  of  an  acre  gained  120  pounds  in  42  days,  the  monthly 
gain  being  14.28  pounds  per  lamb.  At  this  rate  one  acre  of  rape 
would  pasture  25  lambs  two  months  and  yield  762  pounds  of 
increase.  We  may  regard  this  amount  as  representing  the  ex- 
treme returns  possible.  (334—5) 

Trials  with  rape  for  lamb  feeding  were  conducted  at  the  Wis- 
consin Station2  by  Craig.  In  these  trials  corn,  oats,  oil  meal, 
etc.,  were  fed  to  lambs  running  on  a  rape  pasture,  with  the  results 
summarized  below: 

Results  of  three  feeding  trials  with  lambs  on  rape  —  Wisconsin  Station* 


No.  of 
lambs. 

Av.  wt.  at 
begin- 
ning. 

Area  of 
rape  plat. 

Length  of 
feeding 
period. 

Grain 
eaten. 

Total 
gain. 

Av.  daily 
gain. 

Lbs. 

Acres. 

Days. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

16 

79 

A 

25 

251 

149 

.37 

21 

77 

70 

1,440 

414 

.28 

21 

97 

A 

14 

480 

142 

.48 

The  above  figures  are  commended  to  stockmen  looking  for  ad- 
ditional feeding  stuffs  for  sheep.  Based  on  the  returns  from  the 
second  trial,  an  acre  of  rape,  with  somewhat  less  than  one  and 

1  Loc.  cit.  2  Rept.  1894. 


504 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


one-half  tons  of  grain  additional,  will  return  800  pounds  of  in- 
crease with  lambs.  After  allowing  liberally  for  the  value  of  the 
grain,  there  are  profitable  returns  from  the  rape  field. 

768.  Rape  compared  with  blue-grass  pasture. —  At  the  Wiscon- 
sin Station1  Craig  studied  the  influence  of  rape  forage  and  blue- 
grass  pasture  in  the  fattening  of  lambs.  A  bunch  of  96  grade 
Shropshire  lambs  from  Northern  Wisconsin  was  divided  into  two 
lots  of  48  each,  one  grazing  on  blue-grass  pasture  and  the  other 
hurdled  on  a  rape  field.  In  addition  to  this  feed  they  were  sup- 
plied a  grain  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  peas  and  corn  by  weight. 
The  lambs  were  fed  on  pasture  or  rape  for  four  weeks,  after  which 
they  were  placed  in  feeding  pens  and  the  grain  ration  increased. 
During  the  preliminary  feeding  of  four  weeks  the  48  lambs  on  the 
rape  pasture  consumed  .64  acres  of  rape,  gaining  50  per  cent, 
more  in  weight  than  the  lot  on  blue-grass  pasture.  The  results 
of  the  trial  are  summarized  in  the  table  below: 

Rape  compared  with  blue- grass  pasture  in  preparing  lambs  for  fat- 
tening —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Preliminary  period  of  four  weeks  on 
pasture  with  light  grain  ration. 

Fattening  period  of  twelve 
weeks  in  pens. 

Pasture. 

Av. 

wt.  at 
begin- 
ning. 

Av. 

gain 
per 
week. 

Hay 

eateu. 

Grain 
eaten. 

Av. 

gain 
per 
head. 

Feed  for  100 
pounds  gain. 

Hay. 

Grain 

Rape  

Lbs. 

63 
67 

Lbs. 

2.6 
1.7 

Lbs. 

2,488 
2,704 

Lbs. 

4,084 
4,084 

Lbs. 

20 

18 

Lbs. 

261 
315 

Lbs. 

429 
476 

Blue-grass  

During  the  four  weeks  preliminary  feeding,  the  lambs  on  rape 
with  some  grain  gained  2.6  pounds  per  head  weekly,  while  those 
on  blue-grass  gained  but  1.7  pounds.  During  the  twelve  weeks 
fattening  which  followed  the  preliminary  period  just  described 
the  rape-fed  lambs  gained  20  pounds,  while  those  on  the  blue-grass 
pasture  gained  18  pounds.  The  amount  of  grain  required  for  100 
pounds  of  gain  was  also  less  with  the  lambs  previously  fed  on 
rape.  This  trial  tends  to  establish  a  secondary  value  for  rape  in 
sheep  feeding. 

1  Kept.  1897. 


Experiments  in  Fattening  Sheep. 


505 


769.  Rape  as  a  second  crop. —  In  another  trial  Shaw1  sowed 
rape  August  12  on  ground  which  had  grown  a  crop  of  winter 
wheat  the  same  season.     On  October  17,  sixty  lambs  were  turned 
into  this  field  and  pastured  twenty-five  days  without  other  feed, 

with  results  as  follows: 

Pounds. 

Weight  of  60  lambs  at  beginning  of  experiment .-..  3,423 

Weight  at  close 3,813 

Increase  in  weight 390 

Increase  in  weight  per  acre 179 

Average  individual  increase 6.5 

Average  daily  individual  increase .26 

This  is  a  most  favorable  showing  for  rape  as  a  second  crop. 
The  feeder  watching  for  opportunity  to  increase  profits  will  not 
be  slow  in  following  this  example. 

770.  Alfalfa  hay.— At  the  Michigan  Station,2  H.  W.  Mumford 
fed  one  lot  of  ten  lambs  on  a  ration  containing  alfalfa  hay  for 
roughage,  giving  a  second  lot  of  ten,  clover  hay,  both  receiving 
the  same  allowance  of  shelled  corn  and  roots.     The  results  of  the 
trial,  which  lasted  fourteen  weeks,  are  summarized  in  the  follow- 
ing table: 

Alfalfa  hay  compared  with  clover  hay  —  Michigan  Station. 


Feed  per  100 

Digestible  nutri- 
ents per  day  per 

Dry 

mat- 

Ration. 

Av. 

weekly 
gain  per 
lamb. 

Ibs.  gain. 

1,000  pounds. 

Nu- 
tri- 
tive 
ratio. 

ter 
per 
100 
Ibs. 
gain. 

Rough- 
age. 

Grain 

Pro- 
tein. 

Car- 
bohy- 
drates 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Alfalfa,  corn 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

and  roots  

2.45 

355 

395 

2.2 

15.6 

.84 

1:7.9 

716 

Clover  hay,  corn 

and  roots  

2.31 

354 

423 

2.0 

15.0 

.87 

1:8.4 

• 

718 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  dry  matter  consumed  for  100  pounds  of 
gain  was  practically  equal  for  the  two  lots,  but  the  heavier  gains 
were  made  by  those  getting  alfalfa.  Commenting  on  this  trial, 
Mumford  writes:  "By  feeding  to  each  lamb  an  average  of  1.3 
pounds  of  alfalfa  hay  per  day,  with  corn  and  roots,  the  lambs  so 

1  Rept.  Ont.  Agr.  Col.,  1891.  2  Bui.  136. 


506 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


fed  gained  an  average  of  2.45  pounds  per  week,  or  34.4  pounds 
during  the  whole  period  of  fourteen  weeks."   (822) 

771.  Fattening  Western  sheep  on  alfalfa  hay. —  At  the  Colorado 
Station, l  Cooke  conducted  an  experiment  in  feeding  wheat,  corn, 
sugar  beets  and  alfalfa  hay  to  Western  and  Mexican  yearlings  and 
lambs,  averaging  88  pounds  each,  during  a  period  of  98  days, 
with  results  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  Western  and  Mexican  sheep  —  Colorado  Station. 


Grain. 

Feed  eaten. 

Gain. 

Daily 
gain. 

Feed  for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Grain 

Hay. 

Beets. 

Grain 

Hay. 

Beets. 

Wheat  ., 

Lbs. 

980 
1,315 
1,315 

Lbs. 

5,009 
6,139 

5,682 
4,728 

Lbs. 
8,150 

Lbs. 

661 
640 

575 
607 

Lbs. 

.34 
.33 
.29 
.31 

Lbs. 

148 

205 
229 

Lbs. 

758 
959 
988 
779 

Lbs. 
1,233 

Wheat..  

Corn  

9,792 

1,613 

In  all  cases  the  daily  gains  of  the  sheep  were  satisfactory.  Be- 
cause of  its  nutritive  quality  and  palatability,  alfalfa  hay  is  more 
than  mere  " filling,"  assisting  materially  in  fattening,  thus  re- 
ducing the  amount  of  grain  which  would  otherwise  be  required. 

772.  Oat  straw — At  the  Michigan  Station,  2  H.  W.  Mumford 
fed  one  lot  of  ten  lambs  upon  oat  straw  for  roughage,  and  a  second 
lot  of  ten  upon  clover  hay  and  cut  corn  stover,  both  getting  corn 
and  roots  in  addition.  The  results  of  the  trial,  which  lasted  four- 
teen weeks,  are  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Oat  straw  compared  with  corn  stover  —  Michigan  Station. 


Ration. 

• 

Av. 

weekly 
gain  per 
lamb. 

Feed  per  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Digestible  nutri- 
ents per  day  per 
1,000  pounds. 

Nu- 
tri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Dry 

mat- 
ter 

&r 

Ibs. 
gain. 

Rough- 
age. 

Grain 

Pro- 
tein. 

Car- 
bohy- 
drates 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Oat  straw,  corn 
and  roots. 

Lbs. 
2.03 

2.38 

Lbs. 
396 

344 

Lbs. 

478 

408 

Lbs. 
1.5 

1.8 

Lbs. 
16.3 

15.2 

Lbs. 
.78 

.82 

1:12.6 
1  :9.7 

Lbs. 
833 

653 

Clover  hay,  corn 
stover,     corn 
and  roots  

Bui.  32. 


Bul.  136. 


Experiments  in  Fattening  SJieep. 


507 


It  will  be  seen  that  though  oat  straw  was  useful  it  was  inferior 
to  the  combination  of  clover  hay  and  corn  stover;  180  pounds,  or 
27  per  cent.,  more  dry  matter  being  required  for  the  same  gain. 
Commenting  on  oat  straw  as  a  feed  for  lambs,  Mumford  writes: 
' '  Lambs  fed  on  oat  straw  as  the  fodder  part  of  the  ration  consumed 
an  average  of  1.25  pounds  per  lamb  per  day.  The  average  total 
gain  of  each  lamb  was  28.5  pounds,  or  2.03  pounds  per  week. 
The  results  of  this  experiment  seem  to  indicate  that  the  value  of 
oat  straw  in  the  fodder  ration  of  fattening  lambs  has  been  hitherto 
underrated." 

773.  MHIet  hay.— At  the  Michigan  Station,  *  H.  W.  Mumford 
fed  two  lots  of  lambs  of  ten  each,  giving  to  one  millet  hay  for 
roughage  and  the  other  clover  hay  and  oat  straw,  both  lots  receiv- 
ing corn  and  roots  additional.  The  trial,  which  lasted  fourteen 
weeks,  gave  the  results  summarized  in  the  table. 

Millet  hay  compared  with  clover  hay  and  oat  straw  —  Michigan  Station. 


Ration. 

Av. 

weekly 
gain  per 
lamb. 

Feed  per  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Digestible  nutri- 
ents per  day  per 
1,000  pounds. 

Nu- 
tri- 
tive 
ratio. 

Dry 

mat- 
ter 
per 
100 
Ibs. 
gaiD. 

Rough- 
age. 

Grain 

Pro- 
tein. 

Car- 
bohy- 
drates 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Lbs, 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Millet  hay,  corn 

and  roots  

1.84 

355 

523 

1.8 

16.1 

.81 

1:10.4 

846 

Clover  hay,  oat 

straw,  corn 

and  roots  

2.26 

357 

430 

1.8 

15.6 

.83 

1:9.9 

738 

The  clover-hay  oat-straw  ration  proved  superior  to  that  con- 
taining millet  hay,  the  difference  being  14  per  cent,  in  favor  ot 
the  former  measured  by  the  dry  matter  consumed  per  100  pounds 
of  gain.  Commenting  on  the  use  of  millet  hay  for  feeding  lambs, 
Mumford  writes:  "More  care  is  necessary  in  feeding  millet  hay 
to  fattening  lambs  than  any  other  coarse  fodder.  Unless  fed  in 
small  quantities  it  induces  scour.  Each  lamb  in  the  lot  receiv- 
ing millet  hay  was  fed  an  average  of  .9  of  a  pound  per  day 


Bui.  136. 


508 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


throughout  the  feeding  period  and  gained  25.8  pounds  per  lamb.'7 
The  gain  for  the  other  lot  was  31.7  pounds  per  head.  (272,  482) 
774.  Corn  stover. —  At  the  Michigan  Station, x  H.  W.  Mumford 
fed  corn  stover  to  one  lot  of  ten  lambs,  and  clover  hay  and  bean 
straw  to  a  second  lot  of  ten,  both  getting  corn  and  roots  in  addi- 
tion. The  results  of  this  trial,  which  lasted  fourteen  weeks,  are 
presented  in  the  following  table: 

Corn  stover  compared  with  clover  hay  and  bean  straw  —  Michigan 

Station. 


Eation. 

i 

Average 
weekly 
gain  per 
lamb. 

Feed  per  100 
pounds. 

Dry  matter 
per  100 
pounds  gain 

Roughage 

Grain. 

Corn  stover,  corn  and  roots.... 
Clover  hay,  bean  straw,  corn 
and  roots  

Lbs. 
2.15 

2.30 

Lbs. 
383 

373 

Lbs. 
451 

421 

Lbs. 
676 

735 

Regarding  this  trial  Mumford  says:  i  l  The  principal  objection  to 
feeding  corn  stalks  (stover)  to  lambs  is  that,  when  fed  in  the  bun- 
dle from  racks,  the  lambs  waste  a  large  percentage  of  the  fodder. 
The  only  satisfactory  method  of  feeding  them  is  in  racks  after 
they  have  been  cut  in  a  cutting  box  or  silage  machine.  The 
stalks  fed  in  this  experiment  were  cut  with  an  ordinary  silage 
cutter  and  fed  from  racks.  The  average  daily  ration  of  this 
fodder  was  1.18  pounds  for  each  of  the  ten  lambs.  Each  lamb 
in  the  lot  receiving  corn  stalks  as  the  fodder  ration  gained  an 
average  of  2.15  pounds  per  week,  or  30.2  pounds  for  the  whole 
period.  Such  flattering  results  should  make  every  sheep  feeder 
value  his  corn  stalks  highly,  and  induce  him  to  take  every  pos- 
sible precaution  to  properly  preserve  them.'7 

775.  Grain  for  lambs  before  weaning. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Sta- 
tion,2 Craig  fed  grain  to  high-grade  Shropshire  lambs  before 
weaning,  corn,  oats,  bran  and  peas  being  used  in  the  different 
trials.  The  grain  was  placed  in  a  trough  where  it  was  accessible 
to  the  lambs  through  a  "  creep,"  while  it  could  not  be  reached 
by  the 'dams.  The  lambs  were  induced  to  eat  grain  at  as  early  a 

1  Bui.  136.  2  Kept.  1897. 


Experiments  in  Fattening  Sheep. 


509 


date  as  possible.  On  an  average  they  were  fed  grain  ten  weeks 
before  being  weaned.  The  results  of  the  trials,  which  were  con- 
tinued during  three  seasons  with  66  lambs  in  all,  are  shown  in  the 


following  table: 


Feeding  various  grains  to  lambs  before  weaning  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Grain  fed. 

Av.  wt.  at 

beginning. 

Av.  gain 
per  week. 

Grain  per 
100  Ibs.  gain 

Corn  meal  

Lbs. 
42 

Lbs. 
3.8 

Lbs. 
63 

Whole  oats  

42 

3.8 

86 

Wheat  bran 

41 

3.5 

77 

Cracked  peas*  

38 

3.7 

73 

*  Average  of  two  trials. 

It  is  shown  by  the  table  that  corn  meal  was  the  most  econom- 
ical feed  during  these  trials,  less  being  required  than  of  other 
grains  and  as  good  weekly  returns  secured.  Corn  meal  will  prove 
satisfactory  for  young  lambs  before  weaning  if  they  are  designed 
for  the  butcher. 

776.  Corn  alone  and  in  combination. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Sta- 
tion1 grain  in  combination  was  fed  against  corn  meal  alone  to  high- 
grade  Shropshire  lambs  before  and  after  weaning.  The  results 
of  one  trial  with  five  lambs  in  each  of  three  lots  are  shown  in  the 
following  table: 

Corn  meal  compared  with  grain  mixtures  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Grain  ration. 

Av.  wt.  at 
beginning 

Av.  gain  in 
8  weeks. 

Total  grain 
eaten. 

Grain  eaten 
per  100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Corn  meal  only  

Lbs. 

58 

Lbs. 

28 

Lbs. 
37 

Lbs. 
26 

Corn  meal  and  oats  
Corn  meal  and  peas  

60 
57 

28 
28 

43 

59 

31 

42 

After  weaning  —  8  weeks. 


Corn  meal  cnly  

86 

19 

131 

13 

Corn  meal  and  oats  

88 

19 

131 

14 

Corn  meal  and  peas  

85 

20 

133 

13 

Kept.  1897. 


510  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

It  is  shown  that  corn  meal  alone  proved  a  more  economical  feed 
than  in  combination  with  oats  or  peas  before  weaning  and  of  equal 
value  to  these  combinations  after  weaning. 

It  is  probable  that  corn  meal  will  force  the  largest  and  most 
economical  gain  with  lambs  both  before  and  after  weaning,  the 
protein  they  require  being  secured  from  the  dam's  milk  and  past- 
ure grass.  It  is  not  prudent,  however,  to  use  corn  alone  for  ewe 
lambs  which  are  to  be  used  later  for  breeding  purposes,  for  this 
grain  builds  fat  and  not  bone  and  muscle. 

777.  Feeding  grain  to  lambs  before  weaning. —  At  the  Wiscon- 
sin Station, 1  Craig  conducted  trials  with  lambs  receiving  grain 
before  weaning,  other  lots  fed  in  comparison  getting  none.  Among 
the  conclusions  reached  are  the  following: 

"The  continuous  grain  feeding  from  birth  until  the  lambs  were 
about  ten  months  old  did  not  produce  any  noticeable  difference  in 
the  carcasses  in  respect  to  the  mixture  of  fat  and  lean. 

"The  lambs  that  were  fed  grain  continuously  from  birth  until 
about  ten  months  old  sheared  a  heavier  fleece  of  either  washed 
or  unwashed  wool  than  those  that  did  not  receive  any  grain  pre- 
vious to  the  third  or  fattening  period. 

"The  wool  from  the  lambs  that  were  fed  grain  from  birth  con- 
tained more  yolk  or  grease  than  that  from  those  that  had  no  grain 
previous  to  the  fattening  period. 

"The  continuous  grain  feeding  materially  influenced  the  early 
maturity  of  the  lambs.  In  three  of  the  trials  the  lambs  so  fed 
weighed  as  much  per  head  seven  weeks  before  the  conclusion  of 
the  trials  as  those  that  had  no  grain  weighed  at  the  end  of  the 
trials.  In  the  remaining  two  trials,  the  grain-fed  lambs  equaled 
the  average  weight  of  those  that  did  not  receive  any  grain,  four 
weeks  before.  The  cost  of  securing  these  (equal)  weights  did 
not  materially  differ  in  most  of  the  trials. 

"When  the  lambs  are  to  be  sold  at  weaning  time  in  July,  at 
the  age  of  three  or  four  months,  it  is  profitable  to  feed  grain  be- 
fore weaning. 

"When  the  lambs  are  to  be  sold  when  about  seven  months  old 
in  November,  it  will  pay  to  feed  them  grain  both  before  and  after 
weaning. 

1  Kept.  1896. 


Experiments  in  Fattening  Sheep.  511 

"  When  the  lambs  are  fed  grain  continuously  from  birth,  they 
are  fit  for  the  market  at  any  time,  so  that  advantage  may  be  taken 
of  any  favorable  fluctuation  that  may  occur  in  market  prices. " 

778.  Meat  scrap  and  dried  blood. —  Wildt1  determined  the  di- 
gestibility of  meat  scrap  and  dried  blood  in  experiments  with 
sheep  and  found  them  able  to  digest  the  following  percentages: 

Meat  scrap:  protein  95,  fat  98. 
Dried  blood:  protein  62,  fat  100. 

Regnard2  obtained  excellent  results  when  feeding  dried  blood 
to  lambs  in  place  of  milk,  supplying  about  one-half  pound  daily 
for  each  100  pounds  live  weight.  Sheep  may  gradually  be  taught 
to  eat  both  the  above  mentioned  feeds.  (338-9) 

779.  Fish  scrap. —  According  to  Kellner, 3  sheep  are  able  to  di- 
gest 90  per  cent,  of  the  protein  in  fish  scrap  and  76  per  cent  of 
the  crude  fat.     Fish  scrap  is  somewhat  less  digestible,  therefore, 
than  meat  scrap.     It  should  only  be  fed  sparingly,  especially 
in  the  beginning,  the  maximum  allowance  being  from  one-half  to 
two-thirds  of  a  pound  daily  per  hundred  pounds  of  sheep.  (340, 
661) 

780.  Influence  of  protein  on  the  carcass. —  At  the  Wisconsin 
Station,4  Craig  found  that   Shropshire-Merino  wether   lambs, 
when  fed  on  shelled  corn,  corn  silage  and  corn  fodder — a  carbo- 
hydrate ration, —  averaged,  when  fat,  112  pounds,  and  dressed  49 
per  cent,  of  their  live  weight     Another  lot  under  similar  condi- 
tions, fed  oats,  oil  meal,  clover  silage  and  clover  hay  —  a  protein 
ration, — weighed  117  pounds,  and  dressed  51  per  cent  of  their  live 
weight     At  the  Cornell  Station5  Roberts  fed  rations  varying  from 
carbonaceous  to  highly  nitrogenous  to  grade  Shropshire  and 
Southdown  lambs,  which  dressed  from  45  to  51  per  cent  of  their 
live  weight,  equally  high  returns  being  secured  from  the  car- 
bonaceous food. 6 


1  Landw.  Vers.  Stat,  1877,  p.  20. 

*  Pott,    Landw.  Futtermittel,  p.  656. 

*  Landw.  Vers.  Stat,  1877,  p.  430. 

*  Itept.  1889. 
0  Bui.  8. 

«  See  Reports  Storrs  Expt.  Sta.,  1894-96, 


512  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

II.    Wool  Production. 

781.  Influence  of  soil  and  climate. —  The  effects  of  geological 
formations  and  soils  generally  are  quite  marked  on  the  character- 
istics of  sheep.  Brown1  shows  that  soil  in  the  vegetation  it  pro- 
duces, and  climate,  were  prime  factors  in  evolving  the  various 
breeds  of  English  sheep  5  the  rich  low  lands  with  their- abundance 
of  nutritious  grasses  producing  the  heavy-bodied,  plethoric  Long- 
wools,  while  the  next  higher  grade  of  lands  with  less  abundant 
herbage  gives  the  Downs  and  Middle- wools,  leaving  to  the  mount- 
ains and  more  scant  herbage  the  active,  still  lighter  breeds. 

Colernan2  states  that  the  peculiar  luster  of  the  Lincoln  wool 
diminishes  when  these  sheep  pass  to  a  less  congenial  soil;  that 
wool  in  certain  districts  of  Yorkshire  brings  a  higher  price  than 
that  of  other  localities,  the  advantage  being  probably  due  to  a 
favorable  combination  of  soil  and  climate.  He  further  states 
that  limestone  soils,  while  for  many  reasons  peculiarly  suited  to 
sheep  raising,  have  a  tendency  to  produce  a  harshness  in  wool 
which  renders  it  less  valuable  than  that  from  sheep  living  on 
clays  or  gravels. 

While  a  dry,  porous  soil  is  no  doubt  directly  favorable  to  the 
general  healthfullness  of  sheep,  there  seems  a  further  possible 
beneficial  result  through  a  finer,  more  nutritious  quality  of  the 
food  plants  grown  on  such  soils.  Chemical  analysis  may  not  be 
able  to  discover  or  measure  this  difference  in  composition  or 
quality,  yet  its  existence  seems  probable. 

The  ability  of  man  to  overcome  the  differences  marked  by 
nature  is  frequently  surprising.  Darwin3  quotes  Lasterye:  "  The 
preservation  of  the  (Spanish)  Merino  race  in  its  utmost  purity 
at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  the  marshes  of  Holland,  and  under 
the  rigorous  climate  of  Sweden,  furnishes  an  additional  support 
of  this  my  unalterable  principle  that  fine-wool  sheep  may  be  kept 
wherever  industrious  men  and  intelligent  breeders  exist. " 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station, 4  Craig  found  that  lambs  fed  grain 
from  an  early  age  grew  faster  than  those  getting  no  grain,  and 

1  British  Sheep  Farming. 

*  Cattle,  Sheep  and  Pigs  of  Great  Britain. 

*  Animals  and  Plants  under  Domestication. 
«  Bept.  1896. 


Wool  Production. 


513 


further,  that  the  better- fed  lambs  each  sheared  about  one  pound 
more  of  wool.  On  scouring  the  wool  from  the  different  lots,  the 
returns  of  washed  wool  were  practically  equal  —  the  higher  feed- 
ing had  produced  more  yolk  but  not  more  wool. 

Gohren  states1  that  the  absolute  quantity  and  quality  of  wool 
produced  is  less  a  function  of  feeding  than  of  breeding.  Com- 
pare with  Chapter  XXVI. 

782.  Frequency  of  shearing. —  Another  question  of  interest  is 
the  effect  of  removing  the  wool  from  sheep  several  times  instead 
of  once  each  year.  An  experiment  was  conducted  with  Eam- 
bouillet  sheep,  by  Weiske  and  Dehmal, 2  to  study  the  influence  of 
frequent  shearing  on  the  yield  of  wool.  Two  animals  were  shorn 
every  other  month  for  a  year,  and  two  at  the  beginning  and  at 
the  end  of  the  experiment.  The  sheep  received  the  same  feed 
and  treatment  throughout  the  year.  The  average  yield  of  wool 
was  as  follows: 


Growth  of  wool. 

Unwashed 
wool. 

Pure  wool 
fiber. 

Per  ct. 
yolk. 

Six  times  shorn. 
November  and  December  

Lbs. 
1.75 

Lbs. 
69 

61.4 

January  and  February  

1  82 

.84 

54  1 

March  and  April  

2  40 

1.04 

51  6 

May  and  June 

2  18 

91 

58  2 

July  and  August.        

2  28 

96 

57  3 

September  and  October  

2  01 

.82 

58.5 

Total.. 

12  44 

5  26 

57  7 

Once  shorn  

12  80 

4  30 

65  8 

The  sheep  shorn  six  times  produced  somewhat  less  unwashed 
wool  but  about  22  per  cent,  more  pure  wool  fiber  than  those  shorn 
once.  The  wool  from  the  once- shorn  sheep  contained  more  yolk 
than  the  other. 


1  Futterungslehre,  1872,  p.  511. 

2  Jour.  f.  Landw.,  1882. 

33 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

GENERAL  CAKE  OF  SHEEP — FATTENING. 

I.  Shepherd  and  Flock. 

783.  Food  of  the  sheep. —  The  sheep  is  the  plant- scavenger  of 
the  farm.  Through  its  dainty  nibbling  of  herbage,  we  might 
suppose  its  likes  were  few  and  dislikes  many,  yet  every  plant 
at  some  period  of  its  growth  seems  palatable.  If  sufficient  num- 
bers of  sheep  are  kept  on  one  field  for  any  length  of  time,  every- 
thing green  is  eaten,  many  species  of  plants  being  entirely  de- 
stroyed. 

While  sheep,  like  other  farm  animals,  exhibit  strong  prefer- 
ences for  certain  food  articles,  necessity  may  cause  them  to  subsist 
upon  substances  far  removed  from t  the  usual  dietary.  Low1  re- 
ports that  the  sheep  of  the  Shetland  Islands,  feed  upon  seaweed 
during  the  winter  months,  knowing  by  instinct  the  first  ebbing 
of  the  tide,  and  that  they  are  fed  dried  fish  when  normal  foods 
are  scarce. 

McDonald 2  writes  of  Iceland  sheep :  l '  The  only  kindness  which 
these  animals  receive  from  their  keepers  in  the  winter  is  being  fed 
on  fish-bones  and  frozen  offal,  when  their  natural  food  is  buried 
too  deep  even  for  their  ingenuity  and  patience. " 

While  sheep  may  subsist  upon  articles  such  as  are  mentioned 
above,  the  organs  of  mastication  and  digestion  plainly  indicate  that 
plants  in  some  form  constitute  their  natural  food.  The  cutting 
teeth  in  the  lower  jaw  of  the  sheep  fit  against  the  cartilaginous 
pad  above  in  such  manner  that,  when  feeding,  the  herbage  is  torn 
off  rather  than  cut.  The  faeces  of  the  sheep  show  the  finest 
grinding  of  any  of  our  farm  animals,  minute  weed  seeds  being 
generally  crushed  and  destroyed. 

1  The  Breeds  of  the  Domestic  Animals  of  the  British  Islands. 

2  Cattle,  Sheep  and  Peer, 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  515 

784.  Mutton  breeds  and  the  Merinos  compared. —  The  Merino 
sheep  is  peculiarly  a  wool-bearer,  and  nearly  all  lines  descended 
from  the  Spanish  stock  have  been  selected  with  that  single  end  in 
view.     The  story  of  the  Spanish  Merino  in  its  home  country  forms 
one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  extant  in  the  history  of  live 
stock. 1     In  their  pilgrimage  from  South  to  Central  Spain  each 
spring,   and  their  return  in  the  fall,  the  Spanish  flocks  make 
annual  journeys  covering  in  all  about  one  thousand  miles.     Only 
the  strongest  and  most  rugged  animals  survive  the  long,  fatiguing 
and  perilous  marches.     The  ability  to  exist  in  enormous  flocks,  to 
range  over  a  vast  territory,  and  to  subsist  upon  scant  food,  are  the 
leading  of  the  many  remarkable  qualities  wrought  by  stern  fate 
into  the  very  fiber  and  constitution  of  the  Merino  sheep. 

Almost  opposite  in  some  respects  are  the  English  mutton 
breeds  of  sheep,  which  have  been  reared  in  small  flocks  confined 
to  limited  pastures,  the  best  specimens  being  saved  and  nurtured 
by  kindly  hands  with  intelligent  attention  to  all  their  wants. 
They  have  been  sheltered  from  storms  and  given  roughage  and 
grain  from  barn  and  stack,  whenever  the  fields  were  scant  of 
herbage  or  the  weather  severe.  In  general,  the  life  of  the 
English  mutton  sheep  has  been  one  of  plenty  almost  to  surfeit 
and  quiet  contentment.  In  this  country  we  cannot  hope  to  attain 
the  wonderful  success  reached  by  British  sheep-owners  unless  we 
follow  closely  or  improve  upon  their  methods.  The  rules  and 
practices  prevalent  in  this  country  in  handling  Merino  sheep  will 
prove  satisfactory  with  the  mutton  breeds,  and  the  feeder  in  the 
very  inception  of  his  flock  experience  should  duly  consider  the 
habits  and  characteristics  of  the  animals  he  is  handling. 

785.  Size  of  the  flock. —  The  sheep  is  distinctively  a  gregarious 
animal.     The  American  Merino  of  to-day,  improved  as  it  is  over 
its  ancestors,  still  shows  in  a  marked  manner  the  result  of  inherit- 
ance by  its  adaptability  to  exist  in  large  flocks  and  thrive  under 
ordinary  conditions  of  care  and  keep.     With  reasonable  over- 
sight, thousands  of  Merino  sheep  can  be  held  in  single  bands 
where  the  range  is  am  pie  5  and  for  the  period  of  fattening  tens  of 
thousands  can  be  successfully  fed  together,  as  is  now  commonly 

1  Low's  Domestic  Animals  of  the  British  Islands,  Vol.  II. 


516  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

done  with  range  sheep  brought  to  feeding  points  in  the  Trans- 
Missouri  corn  states. 

To  give  the  highest  returns  the  English  mutton  sheep  must  be 
kept  in  small  flocks,  where  each  member  can  receive  attention 
when  needed  from  the  shepherd.  Of  the  mutton  breeds,  two 
hundred  sheep  are  probably  as  many  as  can  be  successfully  man- 
aged in  one  flock,  and  to  secure  the  best  returns  from  so  large  a 
number  as  this,  one  should  have  experience  in  their  management. 
The  novice  would  better  begin  with  a  flock  of  twenty-five,  in- 
creasing the  number  as  experience  grows  into  intelligent,  well- 
directed  management. 

786.  Quarters  for  the  flock. —  Above  every  other  animal  on  the 
farm,  the  sheep  to  be  profitable  must  be  kept  dry  as  to  coat  and 
feet;   inattention  to  either  of  these  essentials  will  result  disas- 
trously.    With  dry  quarters  sheep  will  stand  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  cold  without  inconvenience;  indeed,  their  quarters  should 
not  be  as  warm  as  for  other  farm  animals.     One  thickness  of 
closely -matched  boards  will  make  the  barn  or  shed  where  sheep 
are  confined  sufficiently  warm  in  the  Northern  states  except  for 
winter  lambs.     Ventilation  is  of  great  importance  and  should  be 
ample,  care  being  taken  to  avoid  direct  drafts. 

The  amount  of  space  provided  for  each  sheep  will  vary  with 
the  size  of  the  animal.  A  ewe  weighing  100  pounds  will  require 
about  ten  square  feet  of  ground  space,  while  one  weighing  150 
pounds  should  have  fifteen  square  feet.  A  space  40x40  feet 
square  will  therefore  accommodate  about  160  sheep  weighing  100 
pounds  each,  or  100  weighing  160  pounds,  not  allowing  for  feed 
racks.  Provide  15  inches  running  length  of  feed  rack  for  each 
sheep  weighing  100  pounds,  and  two  feet  for  those  weighing  200 
pounds. 

787.  Winter  care  of  the  flock. —  The  flock  should  be  so  divided 
into  groups  that  all  members  of  the  division  are  of  the  same  age, 
strength  and  general  characteristics.     A  flock  or  division  of  mut- 
ton sheep,  to  give  the  highest  returns,  should  not  contain  over 
fifty  members.     Aged  breeding  ewes  should  constitute  one  band, 
the  shearing  ewes  another,  the  ewe  lambs  a  third,  and  the  wether 
lambs  a  fourth.     These  bands  should  be  again  divided  if  there  is 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  517 

a  marked  difference  between  their  strongest  and  weakest  mem- 
bers. The  wise  flock-master  will  give  attentive  care  to  the  divis- 
ion of  his  flock  that  each  member  may  have  an  equal  chance  with 
its  fellows  at  the  feed  trough  and  in  enjoying  comforts  and  atten- 
tions from  his  hand. 

788.  Feed  for  breeding  ewes. —  There  is  no  better  roughage  in 
winter  for  breeding  ewes  than  clover  hay,  alfalfa  hay  being  its 
counterpart  at  the  West.     Then  follow  corn  fodder,  cut  in  the 
fall  while  the  leaves  are  still  green,  pea  straw,  oat  straw,  barley 
straw,  etc.     In  addition  to  roughage  each  breeding  ewe  should 
receive  half  a  pound  of  grain   daily,  consisting  of  oats,  bran, 
peas,  or  a  mixture  of  these.     Oil  meal  is  acceptable,  and  a  table 
spoonful  or  two  may  be  given  to  each  ewe  daily.     Corn  should 
form  a  small  part,  at  most,  of  the  ration  for  breeding  ewes,  which 
should  always  be  kept  in  good  condition  and  carry  more  flesh  than 
most  American  farmers  think  proper.     To  winter  them  on  straw, 
or  straw  with  a  little  hay  and  no  grain,  is  to  perpetuate  a  flock 
that  will  gradually  but  surely  degenerate. 

789.  Date  of  lambing. —  The  lamb  dropped  in  late  winter  or 
early  spring  is  more  valuable  than  one  coming  in  early  summer. 
Under  good  management  the  early-yeaued  lamb  comes  into  the 
world  with  comfortable  surroundings  and  a  kind  master  in  at- 
tendance to  give  attentions  conducive  to  comfort  and  growth. 
"With  the  coming  of  spring  the  young  thing  is  of  sufficient  size 
and  strength  to  pass  out  with  its  dam  and  make  the  most  of  the 
fresh  grass  and  genial  sunshine.     Where  there  are  poor  accom- 
modations or  cold  quarters,  lambs  should  not  be  dropped  in  north- 
ern latitudes  earlier  than  the  month  of  May,  and  on  pasture.  The 
ambitious  flock-master  will  not  be  content  with  this  second-rate 
system,  but  will  provide  suitable  quarters  that  his  ewes  may  lamb 
early. 

790.  Hushing  the  ewes. —  With  the  mutton  breeds  twin  lambs 
are  very  desirable,  and,  to  secure  a  large  percentage  of  these, 
English  flock-masters  practice  what  is  called  "  flushing  "  the  ewes 
at  breeding  time.     The  ewes  are  given  an  extra  supply  of  nutri- 
tious, highly  palatable  food  for  two  or  three  weeks  before  the 
desired  date  of  breeding  that  they  may  be  rapidly  gaining  in  flesh 


518  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

at  that  time.     Well-fed  ewes  have  more  twin  lambs  than  those 
poorly  nurtured. 

791.  At  lambing  time. —  As  lambing  time  approaches  the  shep- 
herd should  take  quarters  in  the  sheep  barn  or  close  by,  and  re- 
main in  attendance  until  the  season  is  over.     Lambs  of  mutton 
breeds  are  often  in  need  of  quick,  intelligent  attention  from  the 
shepherd  as  they  enter  the  world.     If  the  young  lamb  is  unable 
to  draw  milk  within  a  few  minutes  after  birth,  it  should  have 
help  to  secure  this  first  and  most  important  feed.     To  this  end 
the  ewe  must  sometimes  be  held  and  the  lamb  aided,  the  whole 
being  accomplished  by  that  patient  skill  so  characteristic  of  the 
good  shepherd,  but  so  impossible  of  description.     With  twins, 
one  is  usually  weaker  than  the  other,  and  frequently  the  mother 
cares  for  only  the  stronger  one;  here  the  shepherd's  tact  serves 
well  in  promptly  helping  the  weaker  member  to  its  full  share  of 
food.     Lambs  can  be  successfully  reared  on  cow's  milk,  though 
close  attention  is  necessary  in  its  successful  use  during  the  first 
month.     Warm  cow's  milk  can  be  fed  from  a  teapot  over  the 
spout  of  which  a  rubber   "cot"  with  opening  in  end  has  been 
placed;  or  a  nursing  bottle  may  be  used.    At  first  the  lamb  should 
be  fed  fifteen  or  eighteen  times  a  day;  later,  half  a  dozen  times. 

The  shepherd,  rooming  close  by  the  lying-in  quarters,  should 
be  in  attendance  every  two  or  three  hours  in  the  night  when  the 
lambing  season  is  on,  to  help  the  weak  ones  and  see  that  all  are 
prospering.  With  the  first  fill  of  milk  from  the  dam  the  new- 
born lamb  becomes  comfortable  and  is  usually  able  thereafter  to 
take  care  of  itself.  Lambs  of  the  mutton  breeds  are  often  weak 
at  birth,  but  under  good  management  gain  rapidly  in  strength. 

For  two  or  three  days  after  parturition  the  ewe  should  be  sup- 
plied sparingly  with  dry  food  of  the  same  character  as  that  given 
before  lambing.  Succulent  feed  should  be  supplied  with  the  de- 
mand for  more  milk  by  the  young. 

792.  Teaching  the  young  lamb  to  eat.— When  about  two  weeks 
old  the  lusty  young  lamb  will  be  found  nibbling  at  the  feed  trough 
beside  its  dam,  and  the  shepherd  should  provide  specially  for  its 
wants  in  order  to  early  accustom  it  to  take  additional  food.    This 
is  accomplished  by  having  an  enclosure  or  room  adjoining  the 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  519 

ewe-pen  into  which  the  lambs  find  their  way,  while  the  mothers 
are  prevented  from  entering  because  of  the  limited  size  of  the 
openings,  called  the  "  lamb-creep. "  In  this  space  place  a  low, 
flat- bottomed  trough,  with  an  obstruction  lengthwise  across  the 
top  to  prevent  the  lamb  from  jumping  into  it.  In  this  trough 
sprinkle  a  little  meal  especially  palatable  to  the  lamb,  such  as 
ground  oats,  bran,  shorts,  corn  meal,  oil  meal — one  or  all, — vary- 
ing the  mixture  to  suit  the  changing  tastes  of  the  young  things. 
They  will  at  first  take  but  little  of  this  feed,  but  soon  become 
regular  attendants  at  the  trough  through  habit  impelled  by  hearty 
appetite.  The  feed  in  the  trough  at  any  time  should  not  be  more 
than  will  be  consumed  before  the  next  supply  is  due.  If  for  any 
reason  there  is  an  over-supply,  it  should  be  removed  and  the 
trough  thoroughly  cleaned  before  the  next  allowance  is  placed 
therein.  Feed  should  be  fresh  and  have  no  smell  of  the  stable 
about  it;  that  left  over  from  time  to  time  can  be  given  to  the  pigs. 

793.  Turning  to  pasture. —  With  the  springing  of  the  grass, 
ewes  and  lambs  should  be  turned  to  pasture  for  a  short  time  dur- 
ing the  warmer  part  of  the  day.     It  is  generally  best  to  accom- 
plish the  change  to  pasture  gradually  and  while  the  grass  is  short. 
After  a  few  hours  spent  in  the  sunshine,  nibbling  at  the  grass, 
the  ewes  and  lambs  should  be  returned  to  shelter,  where  a  full 
feed  awaits  them.     "When  the  grass  has  become  ample  and  nutri- 
tious, stable  feeding  may  be  dropped  for  ewes,  or  both  ewes  and 
lambs,  according  to  the  plan  followed.    With  good  pasture,  breed- 
ing ewes  need  no  grain;   indeed, -we  may  look  forward  to  the 
pasture  season  as  marking  the  time  to  "draw  the  grain  from 
their  systems,"  as  it  is  termed  by  feeders. 

In  some  instances  pastures  are  so  stimulating  to  the  milk  flow 
of  ewes  that  the  over-supply  of  rich  milk  thereby  induced  causes 
digestive  derangement  and  sudden  death  with  young  lambs.  The 
shepherd  should  watch  closely  and  forestall  such  trouble  by  re- 
moving the  ewes  from  the  pasture  after  a  few  hours  grazing  each 
day,  and  giving  hay  or  other  dry  feeds,  thereby  shutting  off  a 
part  of  the  milk  flow. 

794.  Weaning  lambs. —  If  it  is  desirable  to  push  the  lambs  in 
growth  beyond  the  possibilities  of  the  pasture,  at  a  convenient 


520  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

point  let  there  be  a  "  lamb- creep,'7  which  is  a  passage-way  made 
of  slats  or  pickets  so  placed  that  the  lambs  can  pass  through, 
while  the  ewes  are  prevented  because  of  their  size.  In  a  space 
accessible  by  way  of  the  creep,  place  a  trough  for  feeding  grain. 
Whenever  the  lamb  passes  through  the  creep  it  should  find  some- 
thing in  this  trough  tempting  the  appetite, —  oats,  bran,  pea  meal 
and  corn  meal  constituting  the  leading  articles.  Grain  never  gives 
such  large  returns  as  when  fed  to  thrifty  young  animals,  and  the 
growing  lamb  is  no  exception.  Lambs  of  the  mutton  breeds,  more 
or  less  helpless  at  birth,  are  lusty  at  four  months  of  age,  and  will  be 
found  grazing  regularly  beside  their  dams  in  pasture  when  not  at 
rest  or  eating  grain  beyond  the  lamb- creep.  At  this  age,  for 
their  own  good  as  well  as  that  of  the  ewes,  weaning  time  is  at 
hand.  Let  them  then  be  so  far  separated  from  their  dams  that 
neither  can  hear  the  bleating  of  the  other.  For  a  few  days  the 
ewes  should  be  held  on  short  pasture  or  kept  in  the  yard  upon 
dry  feed.  Their  udders  should  be  examined,  and  if  necessary,  as 
is  often  the  case  with  the  best  mothers,  they  should  be  drained  of 
milk  a  few  times  lest  inflammation  arise.  At  weaning  time  the 
lambs  should  be  put  on  the  best  pasture  and  given  a  liberal  sup- 
ply of  grain  in  addition,  in  order  to  mitigate  the  effects  of  weaning. 
To  this  end  new  clover  seeding  is  especially  relished,  while  young 
second- crop  clover  is  also  satisfactory.  An  especially  choice  bite 
may  always  be  provided  for  the  lambs  at  this  important  time  by 
a  little  forethought  on  the  part  of  the  stockman. 

795.  Water  and  salt. —  Opinions  with  regard  to  the  amount  of 
water  necessary  for  sheep  vary  more  than  with  any  other  domes- 
tic animal.  Miller  of  Canada,  who  has  had  large  experience  with 
English  mutton  sheep,  writes:1  "I  have  noticed  that  wherever 
sheep  are  fed  so  that  they  will  not  drink  water  they  are  fed  in 
nearly  the  proper  manner.  In  this  country,  where  we  have  such 
warm  summers,  it  is  hard  to  do  that,  but  the  nearer  we  come  to 
it  the  nearer  we  are  feeding  in  a  perfect  way.'7  In  countries 
with  heavy  dews  and  ample  succulent  feed  in  summer,  and  where 
root  crops  are  largely  used  in  winter,  water  may  possibly  be  de- 
nied sheep,  but  under  most  conditions  it  is  a  necessity  and  should 

1  Wis.  Farm  Inst.  Bui.  7. 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  521 

never  be  withheld.     A  sheep  should  have  from  one  to  six  quarts 
of  water  daily,  according  to  feed  and  weather. 

Sheep  require  salt,  and  it  should  be  supplied  them  at  regular 
intervals.  In  winter  it  may  be  given  in  a  trough  used  only  for 
this  purpose.  In  summer,  salt  may  be  rendered  otherwise  use- 
ful by  scattering  it  on  the  sprouts  growing  about  the  stumps  and 
brush  patches,  or  over  noxious  weeds.  In  consuming  salt  so 
placed  a  flock  will  destroy  many  harmful  plants. 

796.  Vermin. —  Sheep  are  subject  at  all  times  to  attacks  of  ticks 
and  lice.  Wherever  these  animals  are  kept  there  should  be  a  drip- 
ping tank  ready  for  use  at  any  time.     At  shearing  time  the  ticks 
leave  the  sheep  and  pass  to  the  lambs.     The  lambs  should  then 
be  dipped. 

There  should  be  frequent  examinations  of  the  flock  to  note  its 
freedom  from  vermin,  and  the  trouble  forestalled  by  dipping  if 
any  trouble  is  apparent.  No  flock  can  thrive  while  its  members 
are  infected  by  parasites. 

II.  Fattening  Sheep  and  Lambs. 

797.  Mature  sheep. —  It  is  generally  conceded  unwise  to  feed 
yearlings  for  the  block,  since  they  are  shedding  teeth  and  are 
therefore  not  in  condition  to  give  good  returns  for  feed  and  care. 
Unless  prices  for  wool  rule  high  the  stockman  cannot  afford  to 
carry  wethers  past  the  period  when  they  may  be  fed  off  as  lambs. 
Culls  from  the  flock  can  be  prepared  for  the  butcher  at  any  time 
by  the  use  of  a  little  extra  grain.     In  the  vicinity  of  cities, 
profitable  sales  can  be  made  of  fat  culls  offered  at  times  when 
regular  feeders  have  failed  to  supply  the  market. 

798.  Fat  lambs. —  The  demand  for  well-fattened  lambs  steadily 
increases,  the  tender,  juicy  meat  finding  favor  among  Americans. 
Not  only  do  prices  for  fat  lambs  rule  high  as  compared  with 
mature  sheep  and  farm  animals  generally,  but  there  are  other  ad- 
vantages in  favor  of  feeding  off  lambs  before  they  reach  maturity. 
A  given  weight  of  feed  goes  further  with  lambs  than  with  mature 
sheep;  the  money  invested  is  sooner  turned,  and  there  is  less  risk 
from  death  and  accident.     Thus  everything  tends  toward  hurry- 
ing lambs  to  market  as  rapidly  as  they  can  be  fattened  and  as 
early  as  they  can  be  disposed  of  to  secure  the  highest  prices. 


522  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

799.  Quarters  for  fattening. —  Fattening  sheep  should  be  pro- 
tected from  wet  coats  and  feet  at  all  times.     Ideal  quarters  in  the 
Northern  states  are  a  dry,  littered  yard,  with  a  sunny  exposure, 
provided  with  a  well-bedded,  comfortable  shed  extending  along 
the  windward  side  to  break  the  cold  winds  and  driving  storms.    In 
such  quarters  the  air  is  bracing,  the  sunshine  invigorating,  and, 
covered  with  a  heavy  coat  and  filled  with  rich  grain,  the  animals 
are  warm  and  comfortable,  and  comfort  is  essential  to  the  highest 
gains.     If  confined  in  barns  warm  enough  for  dairy  cows,  sheep 
sweat  badly  in  winter.     Stone  basements  are  not  satisfactory 
places  for  fattening  sheep;  if  used,  ample  ventilation  must  be 
provided.     Damp  walls  are  a  sure  indication  of  lack  of  ventila- 
tion and  impending  trouble. 

800.  Feed  racks. —  Grain  and  roughage  should  be  fed  sepa- 
rately.    Backs  for  roughage  in  the  yards  should  be  large,  so  that 
a  considerable  quantity  of  hay  may  be  deposited  in  them,  thus 
making  that  part  of  the  feeding  simple.    If  sheep  are  fed  in  closed 
quarters,  the  hay  should  be  supplied  daily,  since  they  dislike  feed 
that  has  been  " blown  upon/7  as  shepherds  say.     Grain  troughs 
should  have  a  wide,  flat  bottom,  thus  forcing  the  sheep  to  con- 
sume the  grain  slowly,  rather  than  bolt  it  by  mouthfuls.     Not 
less  than  fifteen  inches  of  linear  trough  space  should  be  provided 
for  each  animal  fed.     There  is  no  need  of  incurring  heavy  ex- 
pense in  arranging  yards,  sheds,  racks  and  troughs  unless  the 
improvements  are  to  be  permanent. 

801.  Corn. —  Corn  is  the  best  single  grain  for  lambs,  causing 
them  to  put  on  fat  rapidly  and  not  forcing  growth,  as  is  the  case 
with  some  other  concentrates.     It  is  shown  elsewhere  (757)  that 
about  500  pounds  of  corn  and  400  pounds  of  clover  hay  may  be 
regarded  as  the  standard  allowance  for  producing  100  pounds  of 
gain  with  lambs  where  all  conditions  are  favorable.     From  this 
data  the  feeder  can  readily  calculate  the  cost  and  possible  profits 
of  fattening  lambs. 

802.  Wheat. —  Trials  show  that  wheat  is  not  as  valuable  as  corn 
for  fattening  sheep,  being  worth  about  ten  per  cent.  less.    At  the 
Colorado  Station,  Cooke  observed  that  lambs  fed  on  wheat  grew 
in  frame  and  muscle  rather  than  fattened.    This  conclusion  is  rea- 
sonable judging  from  the  composition  and  character  of  this  grain. 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  523 

803.  Wheat  screenings. —  Enormous  quantities  of  broken  and 
shrunken  wheat  are  annually  turned  out  by  the  elevators  and 
mills  of  the  Northwest.    There  are  also  large  quantities  of  pigeon- 
grass  seed,  wild  buckwheat,  etc.,  screened  from  grain.    All  these, 
usually  in  combination,  are  sold  at  low  rates.     Eeports  of  feeding 
trials  show  these  substances  of  value  in  the  feed  lot,  and  their 
use  should  be  carefully  considered  in  localities  where  they  can  be 
obtained  without  the  payment  of  heavy  freight  bills.    If  possible, 
corn  should  be  mixed  with  screenings,  as  these  no  doubt,  like 
wheat,  tend  to  produce  growth  as  well  as  to  fatten. 

804.  Oats. —  Where  oats  are  low  in  price  they  may  be  used 
for  sheep  feeding  and  will  produce  excellent  mutton.    Like  wheat, 
oats  conduce  to  growth  in  lambs  rather  than  immediate  fattening; 
hence  it  is  best  to  mix  corn  with  them  for  fattening  lambs  when 
possible. 

805.  Bran. —  Experiments  show   that  bran  is  not  especially 
desirable  for  fattening  sheep,  a  large  quantity  being  required  for 
a  given  gain.     Like  wheat  and  oats,  bran  conduces  to  growth 
rather  than  fattening;  its  bulky  character  is  also  against  its  use 
for  this  purpose,  though  a  limited  quantity  may  be  useful.     It  is 
better  in  most  cases  to  supply  the  sheep  with  concentrated  food 
like  corn,  and  cheaper  roughage  like  clover  hay,  to  furnish  the 
bulk  required  in  feed  during  fattening. 

806.  Grinding  grain. —  Of  all  farm  animals  the  sheep  is  best 
able  to  do  its  own  grinding,  and,  except  in  rare  cases,  whole  grain 
only  should  be  furnished.     The  common  saying  of  feeders,  that 
a  sheep  which  cannot  grind  its  own  grain  is  not  worth  feeding,  is 
a  truthful  one.     Valuable  breeding  sheep  with  poor  teeth  may 
be  perpetuated  in  usefulness  by  being  fed  ground  grain.     At  the 
Colorado  Station,  Cooke,  in  feeding  Western  sheep  on  wheat,  ob- 
served that  much  of  the  grain  passed  through  the  animals  un- 
broken.    This  experience  is  certainly  unusual,  but  shows  what 
may  occasionally  happen. 

807.  Roughage. —  The  Eastern  stockman  should  provide  clover 
hay  in  abundance  for  his  flock,  both  red  and  alsike  varieties 
proving  satisfactory.     So  long  as  there  is  an  ample  supply  of 
good  clover  hay,  sheep  show  little  desire  for  other  varieties  of 


524  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

forage.  The  clover  should  be  cut  early  in  order  to  secure  the 
leaves  and  heads,  which  are  the  parts  desired. 

In  the  irrigated  regions  of  the  West  alfalfa  furnishes  a  hay  su- 
perior even  to  red  clover  in  palatability  and  the  nutriment  which 
it  carries.  Alfalfa  hay  of  good  quality  not  only  answers  for 
roughage,  but  because  of  its  abundant  nutriment  serves  as  a  par- 
tial substitute  for  grain,  thus  materially  reducing  the  cost  of 
feeding  and  fattening. 

Next  in  value  to  hay  from  the  legumes  come  the  dry  leaves  of  the 
corn  plant.  For  sheep  feeding,  corn  should  be  cut  early  and  cured 
in  well-made  shocks.  It  can  be  fed  uncut,  or  if  more  convenient 
may  be  run  through  the  feed- cutter,  though  cutting  will  not  induce 
sheep  to  eat  any  of  the  coarser  parts,  as  is  the  case  with  cattle. 

808.  Dipping. —  Before  sheep  are  admitted  to  the  fattening  pens 
they  should  be  carefully  examined  by  an  experienced  shepherd, 
and  if  any  evidence  of  skin  disease  or  vermin  is  found  the  flock 
should  be  dipped  in  the  most  thorough  manner.     At  the  West, 
scab  stands  an  ever-present  menace  to  profitable  fattening.     In 
the  East,  lice  and  ticks  infest  the  flocks  of  farmers  and  sheep- 
raisers  who  are  not  especially  careful   in  flock   management. 
To  attempt  to  fatten  sheep  afflicted  with  any  of  these  pests  is 
to  court  loss  and  possibly  disaster.     Sheep  which  are  seemingly 
free  from  ticks  will,  if  infested  by  them,  show  irritability  and 
restlessness  as  soon  as  fattening  begins. 

809.  Length  of  feeding  period  and  gains. —  The  feeding  period 
with  sheep  and  lambs  should  last  from  twelve  to  fifteen  weeks, 
according  to  the  condition  of  the  sheep  in  the  beginning  and  the 
rapidity  with  which  they  gain.     The  tables  in  the  preceding 
chapter  show  that  lambs,  when  gaining  normally,  increase  in 
weight  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  pound  per  day.     For  a  feeding 
period  of  100  days  the  gains  should  therefore  reach  from  25  to  30 
pounds  per  head.     This  weight,  mostly  fat,  added  to  the  carcass 
of  a  lamb  weighing  originally  80  to  100  pounds,  brings  it  to  the 
size  desired  by  the  market. 

810.  Feed  consumed. —  As  a  result  of  carefully  conducted  ex- 
periments with  sheep  of  different  breeds,  Lawes  and  Gilbert1 

1  Rothamsted  Memoirs,  Vol.  II. 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  525 

write  as  follows  concerning  the  consumption  of  food  by  sheep 
while  being  fattened: 

"  Sheep  of  different  breeds  consume  quantities  of  food  in  pro- 
portion to  their  respective  weights  when  at  an  equal  age,  stage 
of  feeding,  etc. ;  that  is  to  say,  three  sheep  weighing  100  pounds 
each  will  consume  the  same  quantity  of  food  as  two  sheep  of  150 
pounds  each. 

"  Sheep  on  good  fattening  food,  such  as  oil  cake  or  corn,  with 
chaff  and  roots,  will  consume  weekly  about  4. 75  pounds  of  oil 
cake,  4. 75  pounds  of  hay,  and  about  70  pounds  of  roots,  for  every 
100  pounds  of  their  live  weight. 

"When  fed  as  above,  they  will  consume  every  week  about  one- 
seventh  of  their  own  weight  of  the  dry  substance  of  food;  that  is, 
after  deducting  the  moisture  it  contains." 

811.  Rate  of  increase. —  Lawes  and  Gilbert  drew  the  following 
conclusions  from  the  same  experiments  concerning  the  rate  of 
increase: 

"Sheep  well  fed  and  under  cover  will  increase  about  two  per 
cent,  per  week  upon  their  weight;  that  is  to  say,  100  pounds  live 
weight  will  increase  from  1.75  pounds  to  2  pounds  per  week. 

"To  increase  100  pounds  in  live  weight,  sheep  will  consume 
about  225  pounds  of  oil  cake  or  corn,  225  pounds  of  hay-chaff, 
and  from  3,000  to  3,750  pounds  of  roots. 

"The  increase  of  a  fattening  sheep  is  at  the  rate  of  about  one 
pound  live  weight  to  eight  or  nine  pounds  of  the  dry  substance  of 
the  food  consumed." 

812.  Cost  of  gain. —  The  numerous  trials  reported  elsewhere 
giving  the  quantities  of  feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain  will 
enable  the  feeder  to  calculate  very  closely  what  it  will  cost  to  pro- 
duce 100  pounds  of  gain  with  fattening  lambs.     For  instance,  if 
it  requires  500  pounds  of  corn  and  400  of  clover  hay  for  100 
pounds  of  gain,  and  corn  is  worth  28  cents  a  bushel  (50  cents 
per  100  pounds)  and  hay  $8  per  ton  (40  cents  per  100  pounds), 
the  cost  will  be  as  follows: 

500  pounds  of  corn  at  50  cents $2  50 

400  pounds  of  hay  at  40  cents 1  60 

Cost  of  100  pounds  gain,  live  weight $4  10 


526  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

This  may  be  considered  as  the  minimum  cost  of  feed  for  pro- 
ducing 100  pounds  of  gain  with  lambs  at  the  price  named  for 
corn  and  clover  hay.  Often  the  feed  required  will  for  various 
causes  exceed  the  amount  here  stated;  again,  sheep  require  more 
feed  for  a  given  gain  than  lambs.  The  cost  with  other  combina- 
tions of  feed  may  easily  be  worked  out  in  the  same  manner  from 
data  in  the  tables.  Comparing  the  cost  of  gains  made  by  lambs 
and  steers,  it  will  be  found  that  the  former  give  the  best  returns 
for  the  feed  supplied.  (566,  882)  Sheep  will  probably  cost  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  per  cent,  more  for  a  given  gain  than  lambs. 

813.  Hints   on   sheep   feeding. —  Sheep    feeders  do  not  begin 
operations  at  an  early  hour  in  winter,  preferring  not  to  disturb 
their  animals  until  the  day  breaks.     Usually  grain  is  first  given, 
followed  by  hay  and  water.     The  trough  in  which  grain  is  fed 
should  be  kept  clean  at  all  times,  and  there  should  be  ample  room, 
that  each  animal  may  get  its  share  of  grain.     Nowhere  does  the 
skill  of  the  feeder  show  more  plainly  than  in  getting  sheep  to  full 
grain  feed  without  a  member  of  the  flock  getting  "off  feed." 
Western  sheep  may  not  be  able  to  take  over  one-tenth  of  a  pound 
of  grain  per  day  at  first.     If  so,  two  months  or  ten  weeks  may  be 
required  in  getting  the  flock  to  full  feed.     English  mutton  sheep 
take  to  grain  more  readily,  and  in  some  cases  no  more  than  three 
or  four  weeks  need  intervene  between  starting  and  full  feeding. 
In  no  case  should  this  operation  be  hurried,  for  it  means  waste  of 
feed  and  the  permanent  injury  if  not  loss  of  some  of  the  animals. 

814.  Regularity  and  quiet. —  While  regularity  and  quiet  are  of 
importance  at  all  times  in  the  management  of  stock,  they  are 
paramount  in  successfully  handling  fattening  sheep.     Sheep,  like 
other  animals,   are  creatures  of  habit  and  should   always  be 
handled  by  the  same  attendant,  who  should  move  among  them 
quietly,  giving  notice  of  his  approach  by  speaking  to  his  flock, 
and  closing  doors  and  gates  gently.     Dogs  and  strangers  should 
be  kept  from  the  feeding  pens  at  all  times  if  possible. 

815.  Maintenance  food  for  breeding  ewes  in  winter. —  At  the 
Wisconsin  Station, l  Craig  conducted  trials  to  ascertain  the  amount 
of  food  required  to  maintain  pregnant  ewes  in  good  condition  in 

1  Itept.  1893. 


General  Care  of  Sheep. 


527 


winter.  The  ewes  were  Shropshires  and  Shropshire-Merino  crosses 
ranging  from  148  to  177  pounds  each  in  weight  at  the  beginning 
of  the  trial.  Each  lot  was  fed  separately  and  received  one-half 
pound  of  oats  or  bran  per  head  daily.  In  addition  to  this,  rough- 
age was  supplied  as  shown  in  the  table.  The  figures  given  below 
are  calculated  for  100  ewes  averaging  about  160  pounds  each. 

Feed  required  in  winter  to  maintain  100  pregnant  breeding  ewes, 
weighing  from  14.8  to  177  pounds  each — Wisconsin  Station. 


Koughage  fed. 

Coarse 
forage. 

Sugar  beets. 

Oats  or 
bran. 

Amount 
of  refuse. 

Increase 
in  live  wt. 
per  head, 
8  weeks. 

Corn  fodder  (cut) 
Oat  straw 

Lbs. 

175 

110 

Lbs. 

310 
310 

Lbs. 

50 
50 

Per  cent. 

20 
22 

Lbs. 

10.6 
1 

Blue-grass  hay.... 

Oat  hay  (uncut).. 
Oat  hay  (cut)  
Alsike  clover  hay 

Corn  silage  
Sugar  beets 

150 

210 
150 
200 

220 
330 

310 
Coru  silage. 

250 
240 

280 

Hay. 

150 
150 

50 

50 
50 
50 

50 
50 

6.2 

33 
35 
16 

.6 

4.8 

19.1 
4.7 
19. 

1.6 

7 

Clover  silage  

260 

150 

50 

12.9 

7.3 

By  the  above  we  note  that  to  maintain  a  flock  of  100  breeding 
ewes  weighing  about  16, 000  pounds,  there  are  required  daily  50 
pounds  of  oats  or  bran,  175  pounds  of  corn  fodder  and  310  pounds 
of  sugar  beets.  The  stockman  can  easily  calculate  the  cost  of 
this  ration.  Under  Western  conditions  the  cost  of  maintaining 
a  flock  of  100  large  ewes  will  be  about  $1  per  day,  or  one  cent 
per  head  when  kept  on  corn  fodder,  sugar  beets  and  oats.  Re- 
viewing these  findings,  Craig  reports  that  alsike  clover  hay  was 
considered  one  of  the  best  feeds  in  the  list,  being  eaten  with  rel- 
ish and  comparatively  small  waste.  Cut  (chaffed)  oat  hay  was 
found  unsatisfactory,  as  the  pieces  gathered  in  the  wool  about  the 
necks  of  the  sheep,  and  it  was  not  so  well  eaten.  Corn  silage 
was  found  desirable  unless  it  contained  much  corn,  which  is  in- 
jurious to  breeding  ewes. 


528 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


816.  Rations  for  fattening  lambs. —  At  various  Stations  different 
feeding  stuffs  and  combinations  of  feeds  have  been  used  with 
lambs  for  fattening  purposes.  Examples  are  here  presented  to 
aid  the  feeder  in  forming  satisfactory  combinations  of  grain  and 
roughage  and  to  guide  in  determining  the  quantities  required. 
In  all  cases  the  rations  are  calculated  for  100  head.  The  weight 
of  the  lambs  is  given  in  each  example. 


Michigan  Experiment  Station. l 
Corn  and  clover  hay.     Lbs. 


Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed. 
Daily  gain 


82 


.31 


Shelled  corn 149 

Clover  hay 104 


Wisconsin  Experiment  Station. 2 

Corn  and  corn  fodder.    Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 76 

Daily  gain 27 

Shelled  corn 154 

Corn  fodder....  ,.  188 


Michigan  Experiment  Station. l     Michigan  Experiment  Station. 

Corn,  bran  and  clover  hay. 


Corn,  oil  meal  and  clover  hay. 
Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 83 

Daily  gain 34 

Corn 132 

Oil  meal 33 

Clover  hay 110 

Michigan  Experiment  Station. 3 

Corn,  wheat  and  clover  hay.  Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 85 

Daily  gain 25 

Shelled  corn 64 

Wheat 64 

Clover  hay 129 

Wisconsin  Experiment  Station. 2 

Corn,  peas  and  corn  fodder.    Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 76 

Daily  gain 32 

Shelled  corn 87 

Peas 87 

Corn  fodder....  ,.183 


Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed. 
Daily  gain 


Lbs. 
80 
.25 


Bui.  113. 


Kept.  1896. 


Shelled  corn 81 

Bran 81 

Clover  hay 107 

Wisconsin  Experiment  Station. 2 

Corn,  oats  and  hay.        Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 89 

Daily  gain 38 

Shelled  corn 94 

Oats 94 

Hay 95 

Michigan  Experiment  Station. 4 

Oats,  hay  and  roots.        Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 83 

Daily  gain 31 

Oats 164 

Clover  hay 140 

Ruta-bagas 100 

8  Bui.  128.  *  Bui.  107. 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  529 

Minnesota  Experiment  Station. l  Texas  Experiment  Station. 2 

Wheat  screenings  and  timothy  hay.  Cotton-seed  meal  and  cotton-seed 

Lbs.  hulls.                   Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 74  Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 62 

Daily  gain 29      Daily  gain 28 

Wheat  screenings 211  Cotton-seed  meal 97 

Timothy  hay 72  Cotton-seed  hulls 97 

Minnesota  Experiment  Station. l  Colorado  Experiment  Station. 8 

Barley ',  oil  meal  and  timothy  hay.  Cracked  corn  and  alfalfa  hay. 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 76  Av.  wt.  of  lambs  fed 89 

Daily  gain 33  Daily  gain 29 

Barley 189  Alfalfa  hay 290 

Oil  meal 19  Corn 67 

Timothy  hay 72 

HI.   Winter  or  "  Christmas  Lamb  "  Raising. 

817.  Requirements  of  the  market. —  In  our  large  cities  there  is 
a  demand  for  "  Christmas  "  or  winter  lambs.     There  are  several 
obstacles  to  be  met  in  raising  lambs  satisfactory  for  this  market, 
the  most  difficult  of  which  is  breeding  the  ewes  at  the  right 
season,  and  the  proper  nurture  of  the  young  lambs  to  develop 
carcasses  which  will  meet  the  fastidious  requirements  of  the 
gourmand.     A  leader  in  this  high-art  branch  of  sheep  farming 
is  Mr.  J.  S.  Woodward,  of  Lockport,  K  Y.,  who  has  been  in  the 
business  twenty-five  years.     The  facts  given  below  are  condensed 
from  an  essay  by  Mr.  Woodward  in  the  Wisconsin  Farmers'  In- 
stitute Bulletin  No.  7. 

"  Christmas  lambs,"  as  they  are  frequently  called,  should 
present  a  well- developed  leg  of  mutton  with  plenty  of  lean  meat, 
tender  and  juicy,  with  a  good  thick  caul  to  spread  over  the  car- 
cass when  on  exhibition.  A  dressed  lamb  weighing  twenty-five 
pounds,  fulfilling  the  requirements,  is  superior  to  one  weighing 
twice  that  which  is  lean  and  bony. 

818.  Mating. —  Mr.  Woodward  prefers  grade  Merinos  not  lesa 
than  two  years  old  coming  three,  because  they  are  the  best 
mothers.     He  mates  short-legged,   heavy-bodied,   stocky  ewe& 

i  Bui.  31.  2  Bui.  10.  «  Bui.  32. 

34 


530  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

with  a  Dorset  ram,  preferring  that  breed  because  the  lambs  are 
often  doubles,  are  hardy  and  fatten  quickly.  Some  breeders  pre- 
fer Hampshires  for  sires,  because  of  their  large,  growthy  lambs. 
One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  breeding  Christmas  lambs 
is  to  have  them  dropped  sufficiently  early  to  be  large  enough  for 
sale  when  the  market  demands  them.  The  breed  and  condi- 
tion of  the  ewe  has  much  to  do  in  this  matter.  The  ram  is 
turned  with  the  ewes  about  the  first  of  June.  It  has  been  found 
that  keeping  the  ewes  shut  up  and  away  from  most  of  their  food 
for  a  few  days,  and  giving  them  extra  food  before  turning  in 
the  rams,  conduces  to  breeding.  Even  with  favorable  conditions 
all  ewes  will  not  breed  at  the  desired  time,  and  to  secure  400 
lambs  about  500  ewes  are  necessary.  The  ewes  which  fail  to 
breed  are  sold  early,  and  those  breeding  late  give  lambs  useful 
for  later  sales.  Ewes  which  are  successful  breeders  are  kept  as 
long  as  possible,  since  it  is  found  that  one  lambing  in  November- 
is  more  likely  to  breed  at  the  right  time  the  following  year  than 
one  lambing  in  April  or  May. 

819.  Care  and  feed  of  ewes. —  The  barns  in  which  the  ewes  are 
kept  are  such  as  permit  maintaining  an  average  temperature  as 
nearly  50  deg.  Fahr.  as  possible  in  winter,  the  mercury  never 
going  below  40  degrees.     The  folds  or  pens  in  this  barn  have  320 
square  feet  space  for  each  20  ewes,  in  addition  to  which  is  an 
annex  6x18  feet  adjoining  each  pen,  into  which  the  lambs  only 
can  go  for  extra  food.     The  ewes  are  shorn  in  January,  the  object 
being  to  keep  them  cooler  and  allow  more  space.     Mr.  Woodward 
claims  further  that  shorn  ewes  give  more  milk.     For  roughage 
the  ewes  are  fed  clover  hay,  corn  silage,  mangels  and  some  flat 
turnips;   the  concentrates   consist  of  linseed  meal,  bran  and  a 
little  corn  meal.     The  object  is  to  get  the  ewe  fat,  and  Mr.  Wood- 
ward does  not  care  how  fat  she  is,  provided  the  end  is  reached 
with  such  foods  as  are  described  above.     In  warm  quarters  suc- 
culent feed  may  be  given  with  safety. 

820.  Feeding  the  lambs. —  The  lambs  get  their  additional  food 
in  the  side  pens,  beginning  to  eat  when  two  weeks  old.     At  first 
unmixed  new-process  linseed   meal  is  used.     The  troughs  are 
cleaned  every  morning  and  a  fresh  supply  of  meal  put  in,  giving 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  531 

all  the  lambs  will  eat.  When  a  few  weeks  old  cracked  corn  is 
added  to  the  ration,  and  later  barley  and  a  few  oats.  Some  clover 
hay,  cut  when  in  fall  bloom  and  kept  in  a  special  mow,  serves 
for  roughage.  Every  effort  is  made  to  induce  the  young  things 
to  not  only  eat,  but  to  eat  a  large  quantity,  and  keep  eating. 
Weak  lambs  are  fed  new  milk  from  a  teapot  with  a  rubber  cot,  hav- 
ing a  hole  punctured  in  the  end  of  it,  placed  on  the  spout.  Ewes 
bereft  of  their  lambs  through  sale  are  given  a  lamb  from  twins 
to  raise.  To  force  the  ewe  to  own  a  lamb,  a  movable  partition 
is  used  to  separate  her  and  the  lamb  from  the  flock,  and  the  lamb 
is  helped  to  suck  twenty  times  a  day  until  owned  by  its  foster- 
mother.  Water  weakly  tinctured  with  the  essence  of  pepper- 
mint sprinkled  over  the  nose  of  the  ewe  and  over  the  lamb 
frequently  helps  to  effect  an  adoption.  Through  this  system  of 
forcing  the  best  lambs  weigh  from  40  to  47  pounds  alive  at  six 
weeks,  and  as  much  as  34  pounds  dressed.  These  lambs  are 
dressed  in  a  special  manner,  the  carcass  being  covered  with  white 
muslin  and  sewed  up  in  burlap.  To  be  profitable  they  should 
bring  five  dollars  or  more  per  head.  This  specialty  in  sheep 
husbandry  can  only  be  profitably  carried  on  by  experts  who  have 
gained  experience  through  patient,  well-directed  effort  and  who 
have  markets  not  too  far  distant  that  will  pay  the  high  prices 
such  products  must  command. 

IV.  Fattening  Plains  Sheep. 

821.  Fattening  in  the  corn  belt. —  Anew  industry  has  sprung  up 
in  the  West  within  the  last  decade  —  that  of  fattening  "Plains" 
sheep  in  the  corn-growing  centers.  In  the  winter  of  1889  and 
1890, l  625,000  head  of  plains  sheep  were  fattened  in  the  state  of 
Nebraska  alone,  the  great  corn  crop  of  that  year  forming  the  basis 
of  operations.  Briefly,  the  system  is  as  follows:  During  the  sum- 
mer, Plains  sheep  purchased  in  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  or  other 
Western  ranges,  are  gradually  moved  eastward,  grazing  as  they 
go.  Often  they  are  dipped  en  route  to  destroy  or  make  sure  there 
is  no  scab,  the  bane  of  the  feeder  under  this  system.  By  the  time 
the  corn  is  ripe  the  sheep  have  reached  some  point  where  it  is  for 

1  Special  Report  on  the  Sheep  Industry,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  pp.  845-94. 


532  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

sale  in  vast  quantities  and  at  a  low  price.  A  corral  or  enclosure 
is  made  of  pickets,  and  into  this  the  sheep  are  driven,  to  remain 
until  fattened.  Sometimes  there  are  sheds  for  shelter,  usually 
not  Often  20,000  to  30,000,  divided  into  a  few  bunches,  are  fed 
at  a  single  point.  Wild  hay  is  unloaded  against  the  picket  fence, 
through  which  the  sheep  feed.  The  only  labor  in  handling  the 
hay  after  unloading  is  for  an  attendant  to  keep  it  moved  up  close 
to  the  fence.  From  one  and  a  half  to  two  bushels  of  corn  fed  in 
troughs  are  required  per  day  for  100  head  of  sheep.  To  this  is 
usually  added  a  few  pounds  of  oil  meal.  The  feeding  continues 
about  100  days,  the  sheep  gaining  on  an  average  about  15  pounds 
per  head  during  that  time.  The  profit  comes  mainly  from  in- 
creasing the  original  value  of  the  sheep.  The  industry  is  an  ir- 
regular and  uncertain  one.  If  scab  breaks  out,  as  it  is  liable  to 
do,  there  is  often  a  heavy  loss  to  the  feeder.  Again,  the  profit 
depends  upon  the  price  of  corn,  wliich  varies  greatly  from  year 
to  year  and  cannot  be  foretold  much  in  advance  of  the  time  for 
feeding.  Large  numbers  of  Montana  sheep  are  fed  in  much  the 
same  manner  in  Minnesota  on  the  screenings  from  mills  and 
elevators.  This  feed  is  proving  excellent  for  the  purpose.  Be- 
cause of  bits  of  straw  and  chaff  in  the  screenings  fattening  sheep 
do  not  surfeit  so  easily  on  screenings  as  on  corn,  and  they  may 
even  be  fed  without  giving  any  hay  in  addition. 

822.  Cooke's  report  —  Fattening  on  alfalfa  hay  and  grain. —  In 
Bulletin  32  of  the  Colorado  Station,  Cooke  gathers  a  large 
amount  of  information  concerning  fattening  Western  sheep  in 
Colorado  on  grain  and  alfalfa  hay  grown  by  irrigation.  Accord- 
ing to  this  author  more  than  117,000  sheep  and  lambs  fed  in 
Colorado  were  shipped  to  the  Chicago  market  during  the  season 
of  1895.  It  is  estimated  these  sheep  consumed  136,000  bushels 
of  wheat,  95,000  bushels  of  corn,  840  tons  of  other  grain,  and 
more  than  27,000  tons  of  alfalfa  hay.  The  sheep  and  lambs  used 
were  Colorado-grown  or  from  New  Mexico  or  Idaho.  New 
Mexico  and  Colorado  sheep  are  usually  driven  to  the  places 
where  fed.  The  location  for  feeding  is  selected  because  of  the 
abundance  of  alfalfa  hay,  together  with  an  available  supply  of 
grain.  A  summary  of  the  system  from  the  bulletin  is  as  follows: 


General  Care  of  Sheep.  533 

"  In  feeding  southern  (New  Mexico)  lambs  they  are  put  on 
hay  alone  from  one  to  three  weeks  and  then  grain  feeding  begins. 
In  feeding  sheep  on  a  large  scale,  the  grain  is  fed  in  a  separate 
corral.  The  sheep  are  kept  in  bunches  of  about  400.  The  grain 
is  put  in  feed  troughs,  the  gates  are  opened,  and  they  are  allowed 
about  ten  minutes  to  eat  the  grain;  then  they  are  driven  back 
and  the  next  bunch  brought  in.  By  this  method  all  of  the  sheep 
have  a  chance  to  get  some  grain,  and  even  the  greediest  sheep 
cannot  get  very  much. 

"  The  first  grain  fed  is  merely  sprinkled  in  the  trough  to  get 
the  sheep  used  to  it.  The  principal  skill  in  feeding  sheep  is  to 
increase  the  grain  so  gradually  that  the  sheep  will  eat  it  greedily 
all  the  time.  Most  feeders  use  pails  and  reckon  feed  by  the 
number  of  bucketfuls  fed  per  day.  A  bucketful  of  20  pounds  to 
400  sheep  twice  a  day  is  one-tenth  of  a  pound  per  day,  and  this  is 
as  much  of  an  increase  as  it  is  considered  safe  to  make  at  any  one 
time,  and  it  is  customary  to  increase  only  one-half  of  this. 

"Lambs  put  in  the  pens  in  November  will  receive  their  first 
grain  at  the  beginning  of  December,  and  for  the  first  week  will 
get  less  than  one- tenth  of  a  pound  per  day  per  head;  that  is,  the 
feeder  will  use  a  week  in  getting  them  up  from  nothing  to  one-tenth 
of  a  pound.  The  rest  of  the  month  to  the  first  of  January  they 
will  not  get  over  one-fourth  pound.  Some  hold  through  the 
whole  month  of  January  on  one-fourth  pound,  while  some  gradu- 
ally increase  through  the  month  to  one-half  pound. 

"This  is  all  considered  preparatory,  and  real  grain  feeding 
begins  the  first  of  February.  Feeders  vary  in  the  speed  with 
which  they  increase  the  grain;  but  by  the  first  of  March  few  will 
be  feeding  less  than  one  pound,  and  the  sheep  are  kept  on  full 
feed  from  then  until  they  go  on  the  market.  If  nothing  but 
wheat  is  fed,  it  is  hard  to  get  the  sheep  to  eat  over  a  pound  per 
head  per  day.  .  .  .  The  hay  fed  to  sheep  in  Colorado  is  all 
alfalfa.  It  is  fed  in  racks  that  are  about  14  feet  wide.  These 
racks  are  simply  low  fences  inclosing  a  space  of  14  feet  wide  and 
any  desired  length.  The  fences  are  made  of  three  8-inch  boards 
running  lengthwise  of  the  racks,  the  bottom  one  resting  on  the 
ground,  the  others  above  with  8-inch  spaces,  making  a  fence  40 


534  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

inches  high.  The  hay  is  pitched  into  the  middle  by  the  wagon- 
load  and  pushed  up  to  the  sides  two  or  three  times  per  day  as  fast 
as  the  sheep  need  it.  There  should  be  rack  enough  so  that  most 
of  the  sheep  can  eat  at  the  same  time.  This  will  require  about  one 
foot  per  head  for  lambs  and  15  inches  per  head  for  older  sheep. 
.  .  .  A  large  part  of  the  feeding  yards  in  Colorado  are  located 
on  the  banks  of  streams,  or  near  enough  to  rivers  so  that  ditches 
can  be  run  through  the  yards  and  the  surplus  water  returned  to 
the  river.  .  .  .  During  the  coldest  winter,  sheep  will  drink 
only  a  quart  of  water  per  head,  but  in  warm  weather  5  to  6 
quarts  is  an  ordinary  amount.  .  .  .  Opinions  differ  as  to  the 
amount  of  salt  required  in  fattening  sheep.  The  most  common 
practice  is  to  keep  lumps  of  rock  salt  where  the  sheep  can  lick 
them.  .  .  .  Southern  lambs  are  so  light  of  fleece  that  they 
never  need  shearing  in  the  fall.  But  if  they  are  to  be  fed  until 
the  last  of  May  they  get  very  fat,  and  their  thick  fleece  at  that 
time  makes  them  suffer  from  the  heat.  ...  If  sheared  six 
weeks  before  shipping  they  will  grow  enough  more  rapidly  to 
make  up  the  weight  of  the  wool,  shrink  less  in  shipping  and 
pack  quite  a  number  more  in  the  car,  lessening  the  freight 
charges  per  head.  .  .  .  With  Western  sheep  the  case  is  quite 
different;  they  are  larger,  the  fleece  is  longer  and  grows  earlier. 
They  have  to  be  sheared  if  they  are  to  be  fed  late  in  the  spring. 
.  .  .  This  fall  shearing  applies  only  to  good,  well-grown 
lambs.  Wethers  and  ewes  do  not  need  shearing  if  they  are  to  be 
marketed  before  April  15.  If  they  are  to  be  held  until  late  in 
May  they  had  better  be  sheared  in  the  spring  rather  than  in  the 
fell."  (308,770-71) 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

INVESTIGATIONS  WITH  SWINE. 

823.  Period  of  gestation. —  According  to  Coburn, l  young  sows 
carry  their  pigs  from  100  to  106  days;  old  sows  from  112  to  115 


Spencer,2  writing  of  English  pigs,  says:  "The  variations  in 
the  time  which  a  sow  will  carry  her  pigs  are  very  slight,  and  these 
are  pretty  well  regulated  by  the  age  and  condition  of  the  sow; 
thus,  old  and  weakly  sows  and  yelts  (young  sows)  will  most  fre- 
quently bring  forth  a  day  or  two  before  the  expiration  of  the  six- 
teen weeks.  Sows  in  fair  condition  will  generally  farrow  on  the 
one  hundred  and  twelfth  day,  while  strong  and  vigorous  sows  will 
frequently  go  a  few  days  over  time." 

824.  Weight  of  pigs  at  farrowing  time. —  A  number  of  observa- 
tions have  been  made  by  the  writer  at  the  Wisconsin  Station8  in 
relation  to  the  weight  of  pigs  at  farrowing.  The  findings  with 
seven  sows  are  reported  below: 

Weights  of  pigs  in  order  farrowed — Wisconsin  Station. 


Breed. 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  3 

No.  4 

No.  5 

No.  6 

No.  7 

No.  8 

No.  9 

No.  10 

Total. 

Pure-bred  Berk- 
shire 

Lbs. 
2.1 

2.7 
2.1 
2.5 
2.0 
2.1 
*2.6 

Lbs. 
1.9 

2.4 
2.7 
2.3 
1.9 

2.2 
2.7 

Lbs. 

2.2 

2.3 
2.5 
2.3 
2.2 
2.2 
2.7 

Lbs. 
2.0 

2.9 
2.8 
2.4 
2.1 
2.4 
2.8 

Lbs. 
*1.5 

2.0 
3.0 
2.0 
2.1 
2.2 
2.4 

Lbs. 
1.8 

2.7 
3.0 
1.9 
2.3 
2.4 
2.4 

Lbs. 
1.9 

3.1 
2.6 

Lbs. 
*1.0 

2.1 

Lbs. 
2.6 

2.3 

Lbs. 
*1.3 

Lbs. 
19.2 

22.5 
18.7 
13.4 
12.6 
13.5 
15.6 

Cross-bred  Pol.- 
Chester  Wbite 
Pure-bred   Pol.- 
China  
Pure-bred   Pol.- 
China  .  . 

Pure-bred   Pol.- 
Cbina  

Cross-bred  Pol.- 
Chester  White 
Pure-bred   Pol.- 
China  





*  Farrowed  dead. 

The  sows  under  study  ranged  in  age  from'  one  to  four  years  and 
in  weight  from  240  to  577  pounds  before  farrowing.     As  the  pigs 


1  Swine  Husbandry. 

2  "Pigs,  Breeds  and  Management." 


Kept.  1897. 


536 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


were  farrowed  they  were  marked  by  the  attendant  in  order  to  ob- 
serve any  differences  in  weight  or  other  conditions. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of  pigs  in  the  several  litters 
ranged  from  6  to  10  and  the  weight  of  the  litters  from  13.5  to  22.5 
pounds  each.  The  pigs  when  farrowed  weighed  from  1.3  to  2.6 
pounds  each. ' 

Frequently  in  a  litter  of  pigs  there  is  one  member  much  weaker 
than  the  others,  and  this  is  sty  led  the  "runt77  or  "teatman."  It 
is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  last  pig  farrowed,  this  occurrence 
seeming  in  some  unknown  way  to  mark  its  inferiority.  As  the 
table  shows,  the  last  pig  farrowed  was  not  necessarily  lighter  in 
weight  than  the  others,  and  the  attendant  observed  no  weakness 
or  other  mark  indicating  its  inferiority. 

825.  Milk  yielded  by  the  sow. —  So  far  as  known  to  the  writer 
there  is  no  reference  in  agricultural  literature  to  the  quantity 
of  milk  yielded  by  the  sow.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station, l  Woll 
and  the  writer  ascertained  the  milk  yield  of  four  sows  whose  age, 
weight,  etc.,  are  given  in  the  following  table: 

Data  concerning  age,  feed,  etc.,  of  sows —  Wisconsin  Station. 


No. 
of 
sow. 

Age. 

Date  of 
farrow- 
ing. 

Weight 
after 
farrow- 
ing. 

No. 
of 
pigs. 

Feed  consumed  daily  by  sows. 

Date. 

Mid- 
dlings 

Corn 
meal. 

Skim 
milk. 

Yr. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1 

2 

April  1 

438 

7 

April  2-5 

4 

4 

8 

April  19-21 

4 

4 

8 

May  5-8 

4 

4 

8 

2 

2 

April  1 

456 

6 

April  10-12 

1.5 

1.5 

6 

June    1-3 

3.5 

3.5 

14 

June  18-20 

4 

4 

16 

3 

1 

April  10 

220 

6 

May  30-  June  2 

4 

4 

16 

June  17-19 

4.5 

4.5 

18 

4 

1 

Mayl 

286 

8 

June  2-4 

4 

4 

16 

The  litter  of  pigs  was  confined  in  a  pen  separate  from  the 
sow  during  three- day  periods.  At  intervals  of  two  hours  by  day, 
and  from  four  to  five  by  night,  the  attendant  would  weigh  the  pigs 

1  Kept.  1897. 


Investigations  with  Swine. 


53T 


together  in  a  basket  and  immediately  place  them  with  the  dam. 
The  pigs  soon  drained  the  udders  of  the  dam,  and  directly  this 
was  accomplished  they  were  gathered  into  the  basket  and  once 
more  weighed.  The  difference  between  the  first  and  second 
weights  of  the  pigs  was  credited  as  milk  yielded  by  the  dam. 
The  sows  used  were  pure-bred  Poland- Chinas  with  the  exception 
of  No.  4,  which  was  a  cross-bred  Poland-China  Chester  White. 

826.  Quantity  of  milk  yielded. —  As  before  stated,  the  yield  of 
milk  by  each  sow  was  determined  for  periods  of  three  days,  the 
first  observation  occurring  shortly  after  farrowing.  Subsequent 
determinations  were  at  intervals  of  about  two  weeks.  The  weights 
of  milk  yielded  by  the  several  sows  are  given  in  the  following 
table: 

Milk  yielded  daily  by  four  sows,  in  pounds,  avoirdupois  —  Wisconsin 

Station. 


Date. 

Sow  No.  1,  6  pigs 

Sow  No.  2,  6  pigs 

Sow  No.  3,  7  pigs 

Sow  No.  4,  8  pigs 

1st  day. 

2nd  day. 

3rd  day. 

Average 

£ 

-d 

2 

1 

T3 

C 

C<I 

3rd  day. 

Average 

£ 

•a 

3 

1 

T3 
£3 
<N 

3rd  day. 

Average 

j 

•d 
2 

2nd  day. 

3rd  day. 

Average 

April  2-4. 

*  o 

3  9 

ft  7 

R  4 

April  10-12 

s  \ 

S  7 

4  4 

8  8 

April  19-21  .... 

7  7 

8  7 

8  4 

8  R 

T.2 

April  26-28 

4.3 

4.6 

5..3 

4.7 

"O 

i'.'i 

"5".! 

April  27-29.... 
May  3-5  





4.6 

4.7 

5.3 

4.9 

May  5-7  
May  13-15  
May  14-16  

6.1 

5.9 

5.4 

5.8 

'H"i 

"fTo 

48 

50 

'Via 

V".6 

7.7 

7.7 

May  20-22  

7.2 

7.1 

7.2 

7.2 

May  30-June  1  
May  31-June  2  



"H's 

n  4 

fi"l 

5"  3 

7.3 

7.2 

6.8 

7.1 

June  6-8  

7.2 

7.5 

7.3 

7.3 

June  16-18  
June  17-19  





1.6 

T? 

l"? 

I'R 

2.3 

2.0 

1.0 

2.1 

June  23-25  

3.5 

3.2 

3.2 

3.3 

Averages.. 



5  8 

4  1 

5  4 

5.5 

/ 

The  table  shows  that  the  average  daily  milk  yield  ranged  from 
4.1  pounds  with  sow  No.  2  to  5.8  pounds  with  sow  No.  1.  The 
highest  yield  of  milk  on  any  one  day  was  8.7  pounds  by  sow 
No.  1,  twenty  days  after  farrowing.  (739) 

827.  Composition  of  sow's  milk. —  During  the  experiment  sam- 
ples of  the  sows'  milk  were  obtained  and  subjected  to  chemical 
analysis.  Great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  securing  the  sam- 
ples, the  sows  being  quite  unwilling  to  allow  any  milk  to  be  drawn 


538 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


by  the  attendant.  After  considerable  experimenting  it  was  found 
that  the  best  way  to  obtain  a  sample  was  to  allow  the  pigs  to  partly 
empty  the  udder,  when  one  was  gently  pushed  aside  by  the  at- 
tendant, who  quickly  drew  what  milk  he  could  before  the  dam 
was  aware  of  the  operation.  Even  after  the  attendant  had  be- 
come familiar  with  the  difficulties  and  learned  the  best  method 
of  proceeding,  only  about  30  cc.,  or  one  fluid  ounce  of  milk, 
could  be  obtained  as  the  result  of  half  a  dozen  efforts.  From  the 
four  sows  nine  samples  of  milk  were  secured,  which  were  analyzed 
with  the  results  given  below: 

Composition  of  sow's  milk —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Sample. 

, 

1 

2 

1 
1 

1 

Casein  and  albumen. 

1 

Jjjj 

.d 

fry 

'> 
M 

'1 

do 

Solids  not  fat. 

^ 
|0 

I 
1 

* 

Microscop- 
ic exami- 
nation. 

2  • 

ft' 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

April  1. 
April  12. 
April  21. 
May  6.... 
June  2... 
June  3... 
June  4... 

No.l 
No.  2 
No.l 
No.l 
No.  3 
No.  2 
No.  4 
No.  3 
No.  2 

25.09 
18.40 
20.27 
17.96 
17.12 
20.46 
20.54 
18.22 
18.76 

16.10 
8.66 
8.32 

3^89 
8.53 
8.02 
6.67 
7.09 

6.05 
5.11 
5.95 
5.33 
6.09 
6.12 
5.77 
6.67 
7.28 

2 
4 
5.14 

4.48 
5.82 
4.68 
5.96 
4.08 
3.07 

94 
63 
.86 
.95 
1.32 
1.13 
.79 
1.12 
1.32 



8.99 
9.74 
11.95 
10.76 
13.23 
11.93 
12.52 
10.87 
11.67 

3.40 
3.83 
8.27 
5.80 
7.10 
5.27 
7,33 
3.07 
1.33 

""787 
1.379 

""983 
2,295 
1,516 
1,960 
2,536 

"no" 

60 

""40" 

37 

32 

28 

T.0454" 
1.0358 
1.0396 
1.0,350 
1.0388 



Average  all  samples... 
Average  of  7  samples- 
Average  of  5  samples.. 

19.65 
19.05 
19.02 

8.24 
7.06 
6.78 

6.04 
6.20 
6.39 

(4.75) 
4.75 
4.72 

(1.07) 
1.07 
1.14 

(1.0389) 
(1.0389) 
1.038J 

11.41 
11.99 
12.24 

5.04 
5.45 

4.82 

1,635 

51 

828.  What  the  table  shows. —  From  the  table  we  learn  that  the 
fat  in  the  milk  under  examination  ranged  from  a  little  less  than  4 
to  over  16  per  cent.  The  data  for  average  composition  show 
that  sow's  milk  is  richer  in  all  components  than  cow's  milk,  this 
being  especially  true  in  regard  to  fat  and  sugar.  On  the  average 
these  sows  yielded  about  one- third  of  a  pound  of  fat  each,  daily. 
The  microscopical  examination  showed  that  the  fat  globules  in 
the  milk  of  these  sows  were  very  minute,  averaging  only  one- 
quarter  the  size  of  those  in  cow's  milk.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
number  of  globules  in  a  given  volume  of  sow's  milk  was  about 
eight  times  as  many  as  are  found  in  cow's  milk.  (616) 


Investigations  with  Swine. 


539 


Judging  from  the  composition  of  sow's  milk  as  shown  by  these 
analyses,  where  cow's  milk  is  fed  to  very  young  pigs  some  sugar 
and  cream  should  be  added  to  make  it  resemble  the  milk  they 
would  normally  receive. 

829.  Individual  gain  of  young  pigs. —  Since  the  student  may  wish 
to  know  the  individual  gains  of  the  members  of  the  litter  when 
quite  young,  the  following  table  is  given  showing  weight  and 
gains  of  sow  and  pigs  studied  by  the  writer  at  the  Wisconsin  Sta- 
tion. 1  The  data  cover  70  days  before  and  49  after  weaning. 

Before  the  pigs  were  weaned  the  sow  consumed  463  pounds  of 
corn  meal  and  1,207  pounds  of  skim  milk.  The  pigs,  fed  at  a 
separate  trough,  during  the  same  time  consumed  122  pounds  of 
corn  meal  and  367  pounds  of  skim  milk.  During  forty -nine  days 
immediately  after  weaning,  the  pigs  consumed  651  pounds  of  corn 
meal  and  1,953  pounds  of  skim  milk. 

Weight  of  pigs  at  birth  and  individual  gains  before  and  after  wean- 
ing —  Wisconsin  Station. 

Before  weaning. 


Date. 

Days 
from 
birth. 

wt. 

of 
sow. 

Weight  of  pigs. 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  3 

No.  4 

No.  6 

No.  6 

No.  7 

No.  8 

May  24.  .. 

Lbs. 
332 

'"200" 

285 
277 
278 
280 
293 
280 
278 
268 
261 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

May  25 

0 
7 
14 
21 
29 
35 
42 
49 
56 
63 
70 

3.6 
7.1 
10.7 
19.0 
19.4 
24.2 
28.0 
32.5 
40.5 
47.0 
50.5 

3.2 
5.1 
7.7 
11.5 
14.5 
16.4 
18.7 
19.0 
22.5 
24.5 
25.0 

3.3 
5.9 
9.9 
13.5 
17.4 
22.2 
25.5 
30.0 
37.0 
44.0 
50.0 

3.2 

6.4 
9.4 
13.5 
17.8 
23.1 
26.5 
32.5 
43.5 
51.0 
60.5 

3.4 
6.3 
9.5 
12.5 
15.6 
20.6 
23.5 
29.0 
38.0 
45.5 
50.0 

3.2 

5.8 
9.2 
12.5 
16.0 
20.9 
24.2 
29.5 
38.0 
45.0 
51.0 

2.8 
4.8 
7.5 
10.8 
14.1 
18.2 
22.0 
26.0 
35.5 
42.5 
47.0 

1.9 
3.0 
5.1 

7.6 
10.4 
14.4 
16.5 
21.0 
26.5 
31.0 
37.5 

May  31 

June  7    

June  14                   .    . 

June  21 

June  28  

JulyS     

July  12 

July  19 

July  26   

August  2  

Gain 

—29 

46.9 

21.8 

46.7 

57.3 

46.6 

47.8 

44.2 

35.6 

After  weaning. 


August  2 

0 

50  5 

25  0 

50  0 

60  5 

50  0 

51  0 

47  5 

37  5 

August  9  

53.0 

25.0 

57.5 

68.0 

57.5 

55  0 

54  5 

44.0 

August  16  

August  23 

14 
21 



57.0 
62  5 

27.5 
33  5 

63.5 
72  5 

75.0 
86  5 

61.0 
67  0 

59.0 
69  0 

61.0 
72  0 

50.0 
56  0 

35 

69  0 

43  0 

84  0 

101  0 

80  0 

76  0 

79  0 

64  0 

September  13  

42 

77.5 

48.0 

94  0 

105  'o 

86  0 

88*0 

88  0 

74  0 

September  20  

49 

85  5 

56  0 

104  0 

114  0 

92  0 

93  0 

93  0 

82  0 

Gain  

35.0 

31.0 

54  0 

53  5 

42  0 

42  0 

45.5 

44  5 

'Kept.  1890. 


540 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  sow  lost  29  pounds  in  weight  while 
suckling  her  pigs,  the  pigs  gaining  from  21. 8  to  57. 3  pounds  each 
in  the  ten  weeks  between  farrowing  and  weaning.  For  the  seven 
weeks  succeeding  weaning,  the  individual  gains  ranged  from.  31 
to  54  pounds. 

830.  Weight  of  pigs  at  birth  —  Early  gains. —  At  the  Wisconsin 
Station,1  the  writer  kept  records  of  the  birth- weight  and  also 
weekly  gains  of  twelve  litters,  numbering  86  pigs  in  all,  for  a 
period  of  ten  weeks,  at  the  close  of  which  they  were  weaned. 
After  weaning  the  records  were  continued  with  eight  litters,  con- 
taining 62  pigs  in  all,  for  seven  weeks.  The  dams  were  pure-bred 
or  high-grade  Poland- Chinas  or  Chester  Whites.  The  results  are 
shown  below. 

Average  lirth-weight  and  weekly  gains  of  pigs  before  and  after  wean- 
ing —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Before  weaning,  ten  weeks,  average 
of  12  litters,  86  pigs. 

After  weaning,  7  weeks,  average  of 
8  litters,  62  pigs. 

Week. 

Average  weight. 

Gain. 

Week. 

Average  weight. 

Gain. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

At  birth.. 

2.5 

1 

4.4 

1.9 

10 

41.5 

2 

7.0 

2.6 

11 

46.7 

5.2 

3 

9.8 

2.8 

12 

52.0 

5.3 

4 

12.5 

2.7 

13 

58.3 

6.3 

5 

15.6 

3.1 

14 

64.2 

5.9 

6 

18.6 

3.0 

15 

69.8 

5.6 

7 

22.6 

4.0 

16 

76.5 

6.7 

8 

27.8 

5.2 

17 

84.1 

7.6 

9 

33.1 

5.3 

10 

38.5 

5.4 

The  heaviest  pig  in  these  litters  weighed  3.6  pounds  at  birth 
and  the  lightest  1.6  pounds,  the  average  for  the  lot  being  2.5 
pounds. 

During  the  first  week  after  birth  the  pigs  made  a  gain  of  1.9 
pounds.  Overlooking  irregularities,  we  may  say  that  the  pigs 
made  a  weekly  gain  of  three  pounds  per  head  the  fifth  week  after 
birth,  four  pounds  the  seventh  week  and  five  and  one-half  pounds 
the  tenth  week.  At  the  end  of  the  seventh  week  after  weaning, 

1  Eepts.  1889,  1890,  1897. 


Investigations  with  Swine. 


541 


when  119  days  old,  they  were  gaining  more  than  seven  pounds 
each,  weekly,  or  over  a  pound  per  day.  , 

831.  feeding  pigs  through  the  dam. —  The  question  whether  a 
pound  of  food  goes  further  when  fed  directly  to  young  pigs  or  when 
first  fed  to  the  dam  is  an  interesting  one  to  the  stockman.  The 
writer  has  conducted  trials  with  eight  litters  of  pigs,  noting  feed 
and  gains,  for  information  on  this  subject. l  In  all  cases  the  darns 
and  pigs  were  weighed  separately  each  week,  and  record  kept  of 
the  food  eaten  by  each  sow  and  her  litter  before  weaning,  and  of 
the  pigs  after  weaning.  The  pigs  were  taught  to  eat  at  an  early 
date,  and  encouraged  to  do  so  by  placing  food  in  a  trough  where  it 
was  accessible  to  them  but  not  to  the  dam.  The  feed  consisted  of 
corn  meal,  middlings,  oats,  barley  and  skim  milk.  At  ten  weeks 
the  pigs  were  weaned,  the  feeding  continuing  for  seven  weeks. 
We  were  thus  enabled  to  measure  the  feed  required  for  gain  by 
the  sow  and  pigs  before  weaning,  and  by  the  same  pigs  after 
weaning.  In  all  cases  the  loss  in  weight  by  the  sow  while  suck- 
ling her  young  is  taken  into  account,  the  results  reported  being 
the  net  gains  after  deducting  such  loss. 

Feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain  with  sow  and  pigs  before  wean- 
ing, and  by  the  same  pigs  after  weaning  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Sows  and 
pigs  before 
weaning. 

Pigs  after  weaning. 

Meal. 

Milk. 

Meal. 

Milk. 

Lot        I.... 

Lbs. 

241 

288 
198 
240 
184 
254 
235 
208 

Lbs. 

563 

649 
654 
528 
482 
509 
474 
416 

Lbs. 

251 
215 
213 
177 

187 
251 
259 

286 

Lbs. 

587 
577 
449 
542 
562 
502 
518 
571 

Lot      II  

Lot    III  

Lot     IV  

Lot      V  

Lot     VI  

Lot  VII  

Lot  VIII  

Average  

231 

534 

230 

539 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  sow  and  pigs  together  before  weaning, 
and  the  pigs  alone  after  weaning,  required  almost  identical  quan- 

1  Loc.  cit. 


542  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

titles  of  milk  and  meal  for  the  production  of  100  pounds  net  gain. 
At  first  thought  it  appears  impossible  that  as  good  gains  can  be 
secured  with  young  pigs  from  a  given  amount  of  feed  administered 
through  the  sow  as  can  be  obtained  by  direct  feeding.  A  pos- 
sible explanation  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  body  of  the  very  young 
pig  contains  a  large  proportion  of  water,  so  that  less  dry  matter 
is  required  for  a  pound  of  gain  than  with  older  animals.  Again, 
each  pound  of  flesh  lost  by  the  dam  during  this  time  may  have 
yielded  more  than  a  pound  of  increase  with  her  young. 

832.  Effects  of  feed  on  teeth  and  skull.—  Schwartzkopff,  of  the 
Minnesota  Station, l  treating  of  the  influence  of  feed  upon  the  for- 
mation of  the  skull  and  the  dentition  of  pigs,  writes: 

"1.  The  order  of  succession  of  teeth  in  our  precocious  pigs 
runs  the  same  as  in  the  primitive  hog. 

' i  2.  The  times  when  the  teeth  appear  are  variable,  according 
to  race,  feeding  and  health.  The  same  breeds  raised  under  the 
same  conditions  will  show  the  same  appearance. 

"3.  The  form  of  the  skull  depends  upon  nutrition,  health,  and 
more  or  less  employment  of  certain  muscles  of  the  head  and  neck. 
Skulls  of  poorly  nourished  pigs  are  more  long  and  slender  than 
from  those  well  nourished.  Pigs  which  are  prevented  from  root- 
ing will  acquire  a  short,  high  and  rounded  head,  while  those  that 
are  forced  to  root  to  secure  a  portion  of  their  food  will  develop  a 
long  and  slender  form  of  head." 

833.  Length  of  intestines. —  Darwin2  states  that  the  nature  of 
the  food  supplied  the  pig  by  man  has  evidently  changed  the 
length  of  the  intestines.     He  quotes  Cuvier  as  reporting  the  total 
length  of  the  intestines  of  the  wild  boar  to  be  nine  times  the  body 
length;  in  the  domestic  boar  13.5  to  1;  in  the  Siam  boar  16  to  1. 
The  writer  measured  the  intestines  of  39  fattened  hogs  and  found 
that  the  large  intestine  varied  from  13  to  16  feet,  and  the  small 
intestine  from  54  to  60  feet,  in  length.     The  average  extreme 
body  length  of  these  animals  was  3. 5  feet.    This  makes  the  small 
intestine  alone  from  16  to  19  times  the  length  of  the  body,  and 
the  large  and  small  intestines  combined  about  21  times  the  body 

1  Bui.  7;  Breeder's  Gazette,  1889,  pp.  536-7. 

2  Animals  and  Plants  under  Domestication. 


Investigations  with  Swine. 


543 


length.  From  these  figures  it  appears  that  the  intestines  of  pigs 
of  the  improved  breeds  are  longer  in  proportion  to  the  body  than 
those  given  by  Cuvier.  This  may  indicate  that  the  modern  pig 
can  digest  his  food  more  thoroughly  than  his  ancestors,  and  also 
that  he  can  eat  a  larger  quantity  of  food  in  a  given  time. 

834.  Water  drank. —  We  find  little  recorded  on  this  subject, 
possibly  because  the  matter  is  not  considered  of  importance  by 
many.  In  a  feeding  trial  by  the  writer  at  the  Wisconsin  Station, l 
a  group  of  ten  pigs  divided  into  two  lots  of  five  each,  one  lot 
getting  barley  meal  and  the  other  corn  meal,  was  fed  for  a  period 
of  eight  weeks,  with  the  results  given  below: 

Feed  and  water  consumed  by  pigs  fattened  on  barley  meal  and  corn 
meal  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Feed  given. 

Av.  wt. 

pigs  at  be- 
ginning. 

Total 
grain 
eaten. 

Total 
gain. 

Total 
water 
consumed 

Feed 
eaten  per 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Water 
consumed 
per  100  Ibs 
feed  eaten 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Barley  meal.. 

208 

2,832 

601 

9,056 

471 

320 

Corn  meal.... 

209 

3,100 

713 

6,620 

435 

213 

The  weight  of  water  reported  includes  that  required  for  soak- 
ing the  meal  and  also  that  drank  from  a  second  trough. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  pigs  fed  corn  meal  consumed  about  two 
pounds  of  water,  and  the  barley-fed  pigs  over  three  pounds,  for  each 
pound  of  meal  eaten.  The  pigs  getting  corn  meal  consumed  over 
900  pounds  of  water,  and  the  barley-fed  pigs  about  1,500  pounds, 
for  each  100  pounds  of  gain  in  live  weight.  Pigs  fed  corn  meal 
appear  to  require  less  water  than  when  on  other  feeds.  (375) 

835.  Breed  tests. —  A  number  of  breed  tests  with  swine  have 
been  conducted  by  the  Stations.  In  the  following  trial  by  the 
writer  at  the  Wisconsin  Station2  a  boar  and  four  sows  of  the  Berk- 
shire breed  were  fed  in  comparison  with  a  boar  and  four  sows  of 
the  Poland-  China  breed.  The  animals  were  registered,  coming 
from  several  breeders  of  repute.  The  pigs  ran  on  blue-grass  past- 
ure in  summer  and  fall  and  were  comfortably  housed  in  winter. 

1  Rept.  1890.  *  Kept.  1894. 


544 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Feed  was  supplied  to  each  animal  separately,  and  a  record  kept 
of  everything  consumed  except  the  pasture  grass.  The  weight 
and  gain  of  the  pigs  during  the  trial  of  224  days  are  given  in  the 
table: 

Weight  and  gain  of  pure-bred  Berkshire  and  Poland- China  pigs  — 
Wisconsin  Station. 


Boar. 

Sow  number  — 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Poland-  Chinas. 
Weight  at  beginning  

Lbs. 

70 
223 

Lbs. 

103 

232 

Lbs. 

121 

245 

Lbs. 

105 
237 

Lbs. 

102 
231 

Gain  in  224  days  .... 

Weight  at  close  

293 

172 

208 

335 

99 
230 

366 

85 
220 

342 

86 
256 

333 

65 

247 

Berkshires. 
Weight  at  beginning  

Gain  in  224  days  

T\f  eight  at  close  .. 

380 

335 

305 

342 

312 

As  these  pigs  were  to  be  used  for  breeding  purposes  they  were 
supplied  with  a  variety  of  nutritious  foods, — shorts,  corn  meal, 
oil  meal,  with  some  milk  and  whey, —  the  purpose  being  to  secure 
good  bone  and  muscle  rather  than  fat.  In  calculating  results  five 
pounds  of  skim  milk  and  ten  pounds  of  whey  were  counted  equal 
to  one  pound  of  grain.  The  total  gain  and  the  feed  required  for 
100  pounds  of  gain  are  as  follows: 

Poland-Chinas.  Berkshires. 

Total  gain  of  lot l,1681bs.  l,167lbs. 

Feed  for  100  pounds  of  gain 524  Ibs.  512  Ibs. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Poland -Chinas  gained  one  pound  more 
than  the  Berkshires,  and  required  12  pounds  more  grain  for  100 
pounds  of  gain.  At  the  close  of  the  trial  the  Berkshire  sows, 
ranging  between  305  and  342  pounds  in  weight,  were  practically 
mature  in  bone  and  muscle  and  carried  considerable  fat.  The 
Poland- China  sows  ranged  from  333  to  366  pounds  and  were  not 
fully  developed,  being  of  a  larger  type  than  the  Berkshires.  To 
have  fed  them  to  the  same  degree  of  maturity  as  the  Berkshires 
would  have  necessitated  a  farther  gain  in  weight  of  from  25  to  50 
pounds  each.  Having  carefully  watched  the  animals  throughout 


Investigations  ivith  Surine. 


545 


the  trial,  the  writer  is  convinced  that  with  these  representatives  of 
the  two  leading  Western  breeds  of  swine  there  was  practically  no 
difference  in  the  food  requirements  for  a  given  gain. 

Summing  up  the  breed  trials  with  swine  conducted  by  American 
Stations,  we  have  the  results  given  below: 

Tests  with  pure-bred  swine — Various  Experiment  Stations. 


Breed. 

i« 
|i 

Days  fed. 

3 

-A   . 

£.3bi> 
.  b£C 

^ 

£fl 

|1 

§1 

1* 

& 

Isf 

g^«* 

fl*g£ 

8£g 

*s5 

Feed. 

Massachusetts.* 
Small  Yorkshire  
Berkshire  

6 
7 

149 
140 

Lbs. 

33 
22 

Lbs. 

1.12 
1.16 

Lbs. 

200 
183 

Lbs. 

316 

289 

83.6 
81.6 

Corn  meal,  bran  and 
gluten  meal  with 

Poland-China  
Tarn  worth  

4 
4 

134 
114 

30 
32 

1.31 
1.40 

206 
191 

307 
304 

81.7 
82.3 

either  buttermilk 
or  skim  milk. 

Vermont.! 
Small  Yorkshire  
Berkshire 

9 

ft 

184 
172 

23 
26 

1.04 
1.17 

201 

227 

353 
321 

84.1 
83 

Corn  meal  and  bran 
with  either  skim 

Poland-China  

3 

160 

34 

1.20 

228 

371 

84 

milk     or     butter- 

Chester White  

fi 

172 

40 

1.36 

262 

335 

84.5 

milk. 

Michifjan.% 
Berkshire  
Poland-China  
Duroc-Jersey  

4 
4 
4 

154 
154 
154 

81 
81 
89 

1.23 
1.20 
1.47 

272 
264 
320 

460 
514 
467 

83.5 
84.7 
83.2 

2    parts    middlings 
with  1  part  each  of 
ground    oats   and 

corn. 

Maine.\ 
Tain  worth  

Berkshire 

3 

^ 

273 
266 

19 

28 

.95 
.90 

278 
267 

488 
493 

76.3 
78  0 

Oats,      peas,     corn 

Chester  White  
Duroc-Jersey  
Cheshire  . 

2 
2 
1 

140 
157 
157 

65 
57 
82 

1.15 
1.03 
1.16 

225 
219 
265 

443 
464 
600 

meal,  skim    milk 
and  middlings. 

Onlario.\ 
Berkshire..  ~~  

Poland-China  ... 

2 

? 

117 
117 

66 
69 

.01 
.03 

185 
190 

475 
607 

77.19 
77.18 

Yorkshire  

9 

117 

50 

.08 

177 

589 

74.45 

Meal  mixtures. 

Chester  White  
Tain  worth 

2 

0 

117 
117 

62 
54 

.05 
00 

185 
171 

557 
469 

77.10 
75  79 

Duroc-Jersey  

? 

117 

62 

.16 

199 

580 

77.21 

Wixconnn.^ 
Berkshire..  

fi 

224 

101 

1.04 

334 

512 

Corn    meal,   shorts, 

Poland-China  

5 

224 

100 

1  04 

333 

524 



cotton-seed    meal, 
oil     meal,      skim 
milk  and  Whey. 

*  Kept.  1891.    fRepts.  1890-2-3-4.    J  Bui.  60.    §  Kept.  1893.    |  Ag.  College,  Kept.  1896. 

U  Kept.  1894. 

The  remarkably  small  amount  of  feed  required  to  produce  one 
hundred  pounds  of  gain  with  the  pigs  fed  in  the  Massachusetts 
and  Vermont  trials  is  due  to  the  large  quantity  of  skim  milk  and 
buttermilk  fed. 

836.  Cooking  feed  for  swine. —  Experiments  with  cooked  feed 
for  pigs  have  been  so  numerous  that  all  cannot  be  here  presented. 
35 


546  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Those  given  are  selected  because  they  are  strictly  representative, 
covering  a  wide  range  of  country,  feeds  and  conditions. 

At  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College, l  Shelton  fed  one  lot  of  five 
pigs  cooked  shelled  corn,  while  a  second  lot  of  four,  similar  in 
all  respects,  was  given  uncooked  shelled  corn,  the  trial  lasting 
ninety  days.  In  cooking,  the  corn  was  placed  in  a  barrel  and 
water  poured  over  it.  Into  this  mass  a  pipe  carried  steam  at  a 
pressure  ranging  from  30  to  60  pounds.  The  kernels  were  cooked 
until  they  were  sufficiently  soft  to  be  easily  mashed  between  the 
thumb  and  finger. 

At  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College, 2  Stalker  conducted  trials  for 
120  days  in  summer  with  cooked  and  uncooked  shelled  corn  fed 
to  Berkshire  pigs. 

At  the  Dominion  (Canada)  Station,3  Eobertson  fed  grade 
Chester  Whites  a  mixture  of  ground  peas,  barley  and  rye,  the  trials 
beginning  in  December  and  lasting  141  days. 

At  the  Ohio  Station,4  Devol  fed  pure-bred  Poland -Chinas  and 
Berkshires  for  112  days  in  winter.  One  lot  of  three  pigs  received 
the  meal  cooked,  while  to  the  second  lot  it  was  given  dry  and  un- 
cooked. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station,5  the  writer  has  conducted  many 
trials  with  cooked  and  uncooked  feed  for  pigs.  Only  the  later 
ones  are  here  reported.  These  trials  lasted  from  56  to  84  days 
each,  the  kinds  of  feed  experimented  with  being  given  in  the 
table. 

The  five  trials  reported  from  the  Wisconsin  Station,  as  will  be 
seen  by  consulting  the  table, are  slightly  in  favor  of  cooked  feed,  the 
difference  being  very  small,  however.  These  are  the  only  feed- 
ing trials  reported  from  any  Experiment  Station,  so  far  as  known 
to  the  writer,  where  the  results  are  favorable  to  cooking.  Ten 
other  trials  by  the  writer  with  cooked  and  uncooked  feed  for  swine 
all  gave  results  unfavorable  to  cooking.  These  and  a  number  of 
trials  at  other  Stations  with  cooked  and  uncooked  feed  for  swine 
are  not  here  included  for  lack  of  space.  With  this  explanation 

illept.  Prof.  Agr.,  1885. 

2  Coburn,  Swine  Husbandry,  p.  134. 

8  Ottawa,  Kept,  1891. 

*  Kept.  1887.  B  Repts.  1886-87-94. 


Investigations  with  Swine. 


547 


of  the  conditions  of  the  several  trials,  let  us  examine  the  results 
grouped  in  the  table  below: 

Feeding  cooked  and  uncooked  feed  to  pigs — Various  Stations. 


Station  and  feed. 

No.  of  animals. 

Average  weight 
at  beginning. 

d 

1 

>> 

1 

Grain 

eaten. 

Total  gain. 

Feed  for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

1 

Uncooked. 

i 

M 

Uncooked. 

Kansas. 
Shelled  corn.  (Cooked  with  steam 
vs.  grain  fed  dry.) 

5 
4 

Lbs. 

219 
252 

Lbs. 

1.15 
1.68 

Lbs. 

3,894 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

520 
605 

Lbs. 
749 

Lbs, 
"*630" 

3,811 

Iowa. 
Shelled  corn.   (Not  stated  how 
cooked.  ) 

Corn  meal.    (Not  stated  how 
cooked.) 

3 
3 

156 
164 

.87 
1.10 

1,680 

"iiesb 

312 
379 

538 

""443" 

3 
3 

173 

168 

.87 
1.08 

1,680 

"li'680 

299 
377 

562 

'"445* 

Ottawa. 
Ground  peas,  barley,  rye,  equal 
parts.    (Cooked  with  steam.) 

4 
4 

76 

77 

1.09 

.86 

2,928 

702 
564 

417 

"425*" 

2,398 

Ohio. 
Corn  meal.    (  Cooked  to  a  mush.  ) 

3 

3 

191 
205 

1.20 
1.14 

2,386 

404 

b83 

591 

"'552* 
""452" 

2,116 

Wisconsin. 

Corn  meal  and  shorts,  equal  parts. 
(Cooked  in  large  kettle.)  Three 

7 
7 

97 
100 

1.16 
1.20 

3,041 

"3",  198 

684 
707 

444 

4 
4 

75 
80 

1.15 
1.09 

1,617 

"ijere 

386 
366 

419 

'"438" 

2 
2 

141 

138 

1.29 
1.26 

678 

""688 

145 
141 

468 

'"488" 

Wisconsin. 
Two   parts  corn  meal,  one  part 
shorts.  (Cooked  in  large  kettle.) 
Two  trials. 

10 
10 

103 
106 

1.03 
1.11 

3,204 

"sisiiB 

724 
779 

443 

'"451" 
"442*" 

4 
4 

147 
151 

1.37 
1.33 

1,292 

'i'isiV 

307 

298 

421 

Average  of  ten  trials 

505 

476 

Including  all  the  trials  then,  so  far  as  known,  that  have  been 
favorable  to  cooking  feed,  and  omitting  many,  for  lack  of  space, 
that  are  unfavorable  to  that  operation,  the  average  shows  that  476 
pounds  of  uncooked  meal  or  grain  were  required  for  100  pounds 
of  gain  with  pigs,  while  after  it  was  cooked  505  pounds  were  re- 
quired. This  shows  a  loss  of  six  per  cent,  of  the  feeding  value 
of  these  substances  through  cooking. 

837.  Soaked  meal  versus  dry  meal. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station, * 
the  writer  conducted  two  trials,  lasting  sixty-eight  days  each, 
with  wet  and  dry  meal,  the  feed  used  being  corn  meal  and  shorts, 

1  Kept.  1888. 


548 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


equal  parts.  One  lot  of  pigs  was  fed  dry  meal,  while  the  meal 
for  the  other  lot  was  moistened  with  water  after  being  placed  in 
the  trough. 

At  the  Minnesota  Station, l  Smith  conducted  trials,  lasting  112 
days,  with  corn  meal,  shorts  and  oil  meal,  fed  wet  to  one  lot  of 
pigs  and  dry  to  a  second  lot. 

At  the  Oregon  Station, 2  French  fed  two  lots  of  Berkshire  pigs 
on  a  mixture  of  shorts,  wheat,  oats  and  bran.  The  pigs  were 
two  and  one-half  months  old  at  the  beginning  of  the  trial,  which 
lasted  182  days.  The  grain  mixture  was  fed  dry  to  one  lot,  and 
allowed  to  soak  between  times  of  feeding  for  the  other. 

At  the  Missouri  Station, 3  four  lots  of  pigs  were  fed  wheat  and 
wheat  chop  by  Conner  for  100  days,  dry  grain  being  used  in  com- 
parison with  grain  that  had  been  soaked  thirty-six  hours.  The 
results  of  these  trials  are  summarized  in  the  table: 

Results  of  feeding  pigs  wet  and  dry  meal  —  Four  Stations. 


Station  and  feed. 

No.  of  animals. 

A  fcb 

CJOH 

Daily  gain. 

Grain 

eaten. 

d 

i 

"3 

e 

Feed  for 
100  Ibs.  gain 

Average  we 
at  beginn 

b 

Q 

-w 

<o 

* 

1 

1" 

Wisconsin. 
Corn  meal  and 
shorts,  equal 
parts. 

3 
3 
2 

2 

Lbs. 

114 
115 
1(55 
171 

Lbs. 

1.25 
1.70 
1.18 
1.62 

Lbs. 

1,228 

"983" 

Lbs. 
'  l)861 

"1)046 

Lbs. 

255 
337 
161 
220 

Lbs. 

481 

"eio" 

Lbs. 

•"404" 
"471* 

437 
"458" 

Minnesota. 
Two  parts  corn  meal, 
two  parts  shorts, 
one  part  oil  meal 
(0.  £). 

3 
3 
3 
3 

34 
29 
33 
30 

1.02 
.73 

.74 

.80 

"i)b'85 

1,140 

1,500 
"1)233 

343 

246 
249 
269 

"44'i" 

458 

Oregon. 
Shorts,  chopped  wheat, 
oats  and  bran. 

2 

2 

63 
61 

1.24 
1.45 

2,115 

"2)819 

453 

527 

467 

'"446" 

Missouri. 
Wheat  chop. 

Four  parts  whole  wheat, 
one  part  bran. 

3 
3 
3 
3 

111 
112 
118 
119 

1.87 
2.02 
1.38 
1.25 

2,339 
"2i'l'05 

"2)419 
"2)054 

562 
605 
414 
374 

416 
"508" 

"406" 
'"549" 

Average  of  all  trials  

483 

451 

The  table  shows  that  on  the  average  451  pounds  of  grain  or 
meal,  when  wet  or  soaked,  were  equal  in  feeding  value  to  483 

»  Bui.  22.  2  Bui.  28.  8  Bui.  29. 


Investigations  with  Swine.  549 

pounds  of  dry  grain  or  meal,  a  difference  of  7  per  cent,  in  favor 
of  using  wet  or  soaked  meal. 

The  results  show  that  the  soaking  of  corn  is  about  as  useful  in 
increasing  its  feeding  value  as  grinding.  Experiment  Stations 
should  give  more  data  on  both  these  important  matters. 

838.  Value  of  exercise.— At  the  Utah  Station, l  Mills  gathered 
data  on  this  subject  with  pigs  during  trials  lasting  four  years. 
Some  of  the  animals  were  confined  in  small  pens,  others  in  yards, 
while  still  others  had  the  run  of  pastures.  The  pigs  used  were  the 
common  stock  of  the  region,  weighing  about  75  pounds  each  when 
the  trials  began.  A  summary  of  these  trials  is  as  follows: 

Results  of  four  years'  trials  with  pigs  confined  in  pens  and  allowed 
exercise  in  yards  and  pastures  —  Utah  Station. 


Daily 
gain. 

Feed  for 
100  Ibs. 
of  gain. 

Pigs  confined  in  small  pens  

901bs. 

512  Ibs. 

Pigs  allowed  exercise  in  yards  and  run  of  pastures. 

l.lOlbs. 

420  Ibs. 

These  figures  show  .2  of  a  pound  greater  daily  gain,  and  a  sav- 
ing of  92  pounds  of  grain,  or  18  per  cent,  of  the  feed,  in  making 
100  pounds  of  gain,  in  favor  of  yard  and  pasture  over  close  con- 
finement. The  reader  should  remember  that  the  results  were 
obtained  with  shotes,  and  that  the  pastures  should  be  credited 
with  the  food  they  furnished,  which  is  of  course  an  unknown 
amount.  (903) 

839.  Value  of  shelter. —  At  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College,  * 
Shelton  tested  the  value  of  shelter  during  winter  with  ten  pure- 
bred Berkshires,  weighing  from  200  to  250  pounds  each,  divided 
into  two  lots  of  five  each.  One  lot  was  placed  in  a  warm  base- 
ment, each  pig  occupying  a  pen  by  itself.  The  pigs  in  the  other 
lot  were  likewise  kept  in  separate  pens,  but  in  an  open  yard,  the 
only  protection  being  a  board  fence  on  the  north.  The  trial  began 
November  27,  lasting  ten  weeks.  The  outdoor  temperature  ranged 
from  12  degrees  below  to  31  above  zero,  Fahr.,  and  the  indoor  tem- 
perature from  19  to  42  degrees  above.  The  pigs  were  given  all  the 

>  Bui.  40.  2  Bept.  Prof.  Agr.,  1883. 


550 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


shelled  corn  they  would  consume  without  waste,  with  the  results 
stated  below: 

Sheltering  pigs  in  basement  of  barn  as  opposed  to  keeping  in  the  open 
yard  —  Kansas  Agricultural  College. 


Total  feed 
consumed. 

Total  gain. 

Feed  for 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Pigs  kept  in  barn     

2,878  Ibs. 

604  Iba. 

476  Ibs. 

Pigs  kept  in  open  yard  

2,8441bs. 

479  Ibs. 

593  Ibs. 

We  learn  from  the  above  that  the  pigs  kept  in  the  open  yard 
required  117  pounds,  or  25  per  cent.,  more  corn  for  100  pounds 
of  gain  than  those  given  shelter. 

840.  Food  of  support. —  Sanborn's  investigations1  in  this  line 
are  the  only  ones  reported  for  this  country.  In  these  trials  pigs 
were  fed  middlings,  the  aim  being  to  supply  just  sufficient  food 
to  keep  the  animal  at  even  weight — neither  gaining  nor  losing. 
The  difficulties  of  such  an  undertaking  are  apparent  to  the 
thoughtful  stockman.  The  findings  are  as  follows: 

Maintenance  allowance  or  food  of  support  for  the  pig  —  Missouri 
Agricultural  College. 


No.  of 
pigs. 

Av.  wt. 
during 
trial. 

Days 
fed. 

Feed 
eaten. 

Total 
gain. 

Per  cent, 
of  live  wt. 
eaten 
daily. 

Tune. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

3 

48 

21 

63 

1.5 

2.1 

Summer. 

6 

172 

18 

352 

20.0 

1.9 

Winter  (warm]. 

6 

173 

10 

172 

3.0 

1.7 

Winter  (warm). 

12 

175 

28 

1,184 

3.0 

2.0 

Summer. 

In  these  trials  the  pigs  always  made  a  slight  gain,  but  it  was 
so  small  that  we  may  ignore  it,  the  error  being  on  the  right  side. 
We  learn  that  pigs  weighing  48  pounds  require  2.1  pounds  of 
middlings  for  the  maintenance  or  support  of  one  hundred  pounds 
of  live  weight,  and  that  pigs  weighing  from  172  to  175  pounds 
required  from  1.7  to  2  per  cent,  of  their  live  weight  in  middlings 

1  Bui.  28,  Mo.  Agr.  CoL 


Investigations  with  Swine. 


551 


for  maintenance.  In  general,  then,  and  until  this  matter  is 
worked  out  more  fully,  we  may  say  that  a  pig  requires  for  its  main- 
tenance two  pounds  of  feed  of  value  equal  to  middlings  for  each 
100  pounds  of  live  weight. 

841.  Weight,  gain,  and  feed  consumed  by  pigs. —  At  many  of 
our  Stations  records  of  weights  and  gains  of  pigs  and  feed  con- 
sumed by  them  have  been  so  reported  as  to  permit  of  studies  con- 
cerning the  influence  of  increased  size  and  weight  of  the  animal 
on  the  consumption  of  feed.  All  of  the  available  data  from 
trials  of  this  character  conducted  in  this  country  up  to  the  time 
of  going  to  press  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  table  given 
below.  In  compiling  this  table,  six  pounds  of  skim  milk  or 
twelve  pounds  of  whey  are  calculated  as  equal  to  one  pound  of 
grain,  according  to  the  Danish  valuation  of  these  articles.  For 
convenience  of  study,  the  data  are  presented  for  each  period  cov- 
ering fifty  pounds  of  growth,  the  actual  average  weight  of  the 
pigs,  however,  being  given  for  each  division. 

Data  relative  to  feed,  weight  and  gain  of  pigs  —  Many  American 

Stations. 


Weight  of  pigs  in 
pounds. 

Actual  average 
weight. 

Number  of  Sta- 
tions reporting. 

Total  number  of 
trials. 

Total  number  of 
animals  fed. 

Average  feed 
eaten  per  day. 

Feed  eaten  per 
100  Ibs.  live  wt. 

Average  gain  per 
day. 

1 

8 

*4 

1  & 

15  to  50  

Lbs. 

38 

9 

41 

174 

Lbs. 
2  23 

Lbs. 
5  95 

Lbs. 
76 

Lbs. 

293 

50  to  100  

78 

13 

100 

417 

3  35 

4  32 

.83 

400 

100  to  150.  ... 

128 

13 

119 

495 

4  79 

3  75 

1  10 

437 

150  to  200  

174 

11 

107 

489 

5  91 

3  43 

1  24 

482 

200  to  250  

226 

12 

72 

300 

6  57 

2  91 

1  33 

498 

250  to  300. 

271 

8 

46 

223 

7  40 

2  74 

1  46 

511 

300  to  350  

320 

3 

19 

105 

7  50 

2  35 

1  40 

535 

350  to  400. 

378 

1 

5 

36 

8  52 

2  25 

1  98 

431 

400  to  450  

429 

1 

5 

36 

8  18 

1  91 

1.71 

479 

450  to  500  

471 

1 

2 

18 

10.00 

2.12 

1  77 

562 

In  the  above  table  the  large  number  of  trials  reported  for 
pigs  weighing  up  to  350  pounds  each  furnishes  reliable  data. 
After  this  point  is  reached  the  number  of  animals  is  too  small  to 


552  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

give  reliable  averages.  The  heavy-weight  hogs  reported  in  the 
last  three  lines  of  the  table  were  fed  by  the  writer.  They  were 
mature  specimens,  with  large  frames  and  in  lean  flesh  when  feed- 
ing began,  having  been  summered  on  pasture  without  grain.  The 
figures  are  introduced  to  show  what  may  be  accomplished  with  ma- 
ture hogs  when  they  are  in  thin  flesh  at  the  beginning  of  fattening. 
We  learn  from  the  main  portion  of  the  table  that  from  105  to 
495  pigs  were  employed  in  calculating  each  line  of  data.  The 
number  of  trials  furnishing  the  data  varied  from  19  to  119,  and 
were  conducted  by  from  3  to  13  Experiment  Stations. 

842.  Amount  of  feed  consumed  daily  by  the  pig. —  The  sixth 
c/olurnn  of  the  table  shows  the  average  amount  of  feed  consumed 
daily  by  pigs  of  different  weights.     From  it  we  learn  that  pigs 
weighing  less  than  50  pounds  each,  averaging  38  pounds,  con- 
sumed on  the  average  2.23  pounds  of  grain  or  grain  equivalent 
daily.     As  the  animal  increased  in  weight  there  was  a  gradual 
increase  in  the  amount  of  food  consumed,  until  we  find  the  450- 
pound  hog  eating  10  pounds  of  grain  daily,  or  more  than  four 
times  as  much  as  the  50-pound  pig. 

843.  Feed  per  100  pounds  live  weight. —  In  the  seventh  column 
it  is  shown  that  pigs  weighing  38  pounds  consumed  5. 95  pounds 
of  feed  for  each  100  pounds  of  live  weight.    This  is  about  six  per 
cent,  of  their  live  weight     As  the  pigs  grew  larger  they  con- 
sumed less  feed  for  100  pounds  of  live  weight,  until  with  the 
heaviest  hogs  the  feed  consumed  was  but  little  more  than  two  per 
cent,  of  their  live  weight.     Here  was  a  decrease  of  about  two- 
thirds  in  the  feed  consumption  per  100  pounds  between  early 
weight  and  maturity. 

844.  Average  daily  gain. —  In  the  next  column  are  presented 
data  concerning  the  daily  gain  of  the  pig.     It  is  shown  that  the 
38-pound  pig  gained  .76  of  a  pound,  or  2  per  cent,  of  its  own 
weight,  daily.     As  it  increased  in  size  the  pig  made  larger  daily 
gains,  the  maximum  being  reached  with  those  weighing  271 
pounds,  which  made  a  daily  gain  of  1.46  pounds.     With  large, 
thin  hogs  the  gain  reached  1.98  pounds,  or  practically  two  pounds 
per  day,  but  these  animals,  because  of  their  mature  frames  and 
thin  flesh,  were  fed  under  exceptional  circumstances. 


Investigations  with  Swine. 


553 


845.  Feed  for  100  pounds  of  gain. —  The  last  column  is  of  in- 
terest to  all,  especially  the  practical  feeder,  for  it  teaches  a  most 
interesting  and  important  lesson  concerning  the  feed  requirements 
of  pigs.     Those  which  averaged  38  pounds  each  made  100  pounds 
of  gain  from  293  pounds  of  feed.     This  exceedingly  small  allow- 
ance of  feed  for  gain  was  probably  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the 
young  pigs  used  in  these  trials  received  much  skim  milk,  which 
was  practically  all  digestible,  the  other  feed  given  being  also 
more  highly  digestible  than  that  usually  supplied  older  animals. 
With  pigs  weighing  78  pounds,  400  pounds  of  feed  were  required 
for  100  pounds  of  gain.     There  was  a  gradual  increase  in  feed 
requirements  for  100  pounds  of  gain,  until  the  hog  weighing  320 
pounds  required  535  pounds  of  grain  for  100  of  gain.    This  is  135 
pounds,  or  33  per  cent.,  more  feed  than  was  required  by  the  78- 
pound  pig.   (566,  757,  907) 

846.  Percentage  gain  of  pigs  from  birth  to  maturity. —  In  a  pre- 
ceding table  (830)  were  given  the  birth-weight  and  weekly  gains 
of  twelve  litters  of  pigs.     In  the  table  just  presented  the  weights 
and  gains  for  older  animals  were  given.     Combining  data  from 
both  these  tables  the  following  is  deduced,  which  presents  the 
weekly  gain  in  pounds  and  percentagely  of  pigs  from  birth  to 
maturity: 

Weekly  gain  of  pigs  from  birth  to  maturity  —  Various  Stations. 


Age  or  weight  of  pigs. 

Weight  of  pigs. 

Gain  in  7  days. 

At  birth  

Lbs. 
2  5 

Per  cent. 

First  week  

4  4 

76 

Second,  week 

7  0 

59 

Third  week  ...     . 

9  8 

40 

Fourth  week  

12  5 

28 

Fifth  week  

15  6 

25 

&ixthweek  

18  6 

19 

Seventh  week  

22  6 

22 

Eighth  week  

27  8 

23 

Ninth  week  

33  1 

19 

Tenth  week  

38  5 

16 

Under  100  pounds  

78 

7  0 

Under  150  pounds  

128 

6  0 

Under  200  pounds  

174 

5.0 

Under  250  pounds  

226 

4  1 

Under  300  pounds  

271 

3  8 

Under  350  pounds 

320 

3  1 

554  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

The  table  shows  that  the  pigs  averaged  2.5  pounds  in  weight 
when  farrowed.  When  these  pigs  were  one  week  old  they  weighed 
on  the  average  4.4  pounds  each  —  a  gain  of  76  per  cent,  of  their 
farrow  weight  in  one  week.  "When  the  pigs  were  two  weeks  old 
they  weighed  on  the  average  7  pounds  each,  an  increase  of  59  per 
cent,  over  their  weight  at  the  close  of  the  preceding  week.  Grad- 
ually the  percentage  of  weekly  increase  diminished,  until  with 
the  close  of  the  tenth  week  it  stood  at  16  per  cent. 

Here  the  data  furnished  by  the  first  table  closes,  and  what  fol- 
lows is  drawn  from  the  second.  Under  this  division,  when  the 
pigs  reached  an  average  of  78  pounds  each,  they  gained  7  per 
cent,  of  their  live  weight  in  one  week.  Gradually  the  percentage 
of  increase  was  reduced,  until  with  the  hog  weighing  320  pounds 
it  was  3.1  per  cent.  Had  the  trials  been  prolonged  there  would 
have  come  a  time  when  the  animals  would  have  eaten  no  more 
feed  than  would  maintain  them,  making  no  gain  whatever,  or 
even  falling  back  in  weight. 

In  comparing  figures  like  those  in  the  last  table  we  should 
not  forget  that  the  bodies  of  very  young  animals  are  composed 
largely  of  water,  while  with  mature  ones  the  proportion  of  water 
in  the  increase  is  small,  the  gain  being  mostly  fat. 

847.  Length  of  the  fattening  period. —  The  following  example 
illustrates  why  pigs  require  more  and  more  feed  for  a  given  gain 
as  the  period  of  confinement  and  high  feeding  lengthens.  (565) 
In  a  trial  conducted  by  the  writer  at  the  Wisconsin  Station, l 
eighteen  cross-bred  Poland- China  Chester  White  hogs  of  unusually 
good  bone  and  constitution  were  used.  Previous  to  the  trial  these 
animals  had  been  on  an  experiment  in  the  rape  and  clover  field, 
where  they  had  received  a  fair  allowance  of  grain,  because  of 
which  they  were  in  rather  high  flesh,  though  they  had  not  reached 
their  normal  size.  The  feed  during  this  trial  consisted  of  two- 
thirds  corn  or  corn  meal  and  one- third  wheat  middlings  —  soft- 
coal  ashes  and  salt  being  supplied  in  addition. 

Owing  to  the  strong  constitutions  and  general  high  quality  of 
these  hogs,  the  writer  believes  these  results  are  fully  as  favorable 
for  a  long  feeding  period  as  stockmen  can  hope  to  attain  under 
the  best  conditions. 

1  Kept.  1897. 


Investigations  with  Swine. 


555 


In  the  following  table  appear  the  data  gathered  during  this 
trial: 

Influence  of  length  of  fattening  period  on  the  food  consumption  and 
gain  of  hogs  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Aver- 
age 
weight. 

Aver- 
age 
weekly 
gain. 

Feed 
eaten 
during 
week 
per  hog. 

Feed  for  100  pounds 
of  gain. 

By 

weeks. 

By  four-week 
periods. 

First  week  

Lbs. 

222 
235 
246 
257 

Lbs. 

11.4 
13.3 
10.5 
10.7 

Lbs. 

41 
48 
50 
50 

Lbs. 

362 
362 
475 
473 

First 
four  weeks, 
418  Ibs. 

Second  week  

Fifth  week:    

270 
281 
294 
303 

13.9 
10.1 
13.1 
8.9 

51 
51 
51 
61 

368 
510 
391 
572 

Second 
four  weeks, 
461  IDS. 

Sixth  week  

Seventh  week  

JBighth  week 

Ninth  week  

313 
322 
332 
340 

10.5 

8.9 
9.6 
8.8 

52 
52 
52 
52 

499 
587 
549 
598 

Third 
four  weeks, 
559  Ibs. 

Tenth  week  

Eleventh  week 

Twelfth  week. 

Studying  the  table,  it  is  seen  that  the  heaviest  weekly  gains  and 
the  smallest  amount  of  feed  consumed  per  week  were  at  the  begin- 
n ing  of  the  trial.  As  the  trial  continued,  the  weekly  gain  in  weight 
gradually  diminished,  while  the  feed  consumed  per  week  gradu- 
ally increased.  In  consequence  of  these  two  opposite  factors,  the 
amount  of  feed  required  to  produce  100  pounds  of  gain  increased 
from  week  to  week  as  the  trial  progressed.  During  the  first  week 
of  the  trial  362  pounds  of  feed  made  100  pounds  of  gain,  while 
during  the  last  week  598  pounds  were  required.  Grouping  the 
results  into  periods  of  four  weeks  each,  we  find  that  for  the  first 
four  weeks  418  pounds  of  feed  were  required  for  100  pounds  of 
gain.  During  the  second  four  weeks  there  were  required  461 
pounds  of  feed,  or  ten  per  cent,  more,  for  100  pounds  of  gain. 
For  the  last  four  weeks,  559  pounds  of  feed  were  required,  or  an 
increase  of  33  per  cent,  for  100  pounds  of  gain. 

The  lesson  is  plain  that  the  gain  of  fattening  hogs  after  the  first 
four  or  five  weeks  of  confinement  is  secured  only  by  constantly  in- 
creasing quantities  of  feed  for  a  given  weight  of  increase. 


CHAPTEE  XXXIII. 


YALUE  OF  VARIOUS  FEEDING  STUFFS  FOR  PIGS. 

848.  Corn  meal  compared  with  corn. —  The  question  whether 
corn  shall  be  ground  before  it  is  fed  to  fattening  swine  is  one  of 
great  importance  because  of  the  vast  quantity  of  this  grain  an- 
nually used  for  this  purpose.  The  subject  has  not  received  the 
attention  it  merits  from  investigators  at  the  Stations,  only  a  few 
trials  being  on  record.  Those  reported  in  the  following  table  are 
upon  the  point  in  question: 

Feeding  shelled  corn  in  opposition  to  corn  meal  —  Kentucky,  Missouri 
and  Ohio  Stations. 


Where  fed. 

No.  animals 
fed. 

Av.  wt.  at 
beginning. 

.3 

a" 

£ 

1 

Grain  eaten. 

.s 
*s 
& 

Feed  for  100 
pounds  gain. 

Whole 
corn. 

si 
6* 

Shelled 
corn. 

al 

5s 

Kentucky*.  j 
Missouri^            -I 

2 
2 
4 
4 
4 
4 
3 
3 

Lbs. 

100 
100 
160 
150 
85 
86 
205 
199 

Lbs. 

1.39 
1.44 
2.04 
1.90 
.54 
.35 
1.14 
1.20 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
753 

Lbs. 

175 

182 
638 
594 
250 
164 
383 
404 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
430 

780 

429 

3,196 

501 

2,864 

482 

1,612 

645 

Ohio*  { 
Av.  of  trials  

1,239 

755 

2,116 

552 

2,039 

505 

543 

532 

i 

*Rept.  1889.  |  Buls.  1, 10.  JRept.  1887. 

Averaging  these  trials,  we  find  that  532  pounds  of  corn  meal 
or  543  pounds  of  whole  corn  were  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain. 
This  shows  that  two  per  cent,  only  was  saved  by  grinding. 

To  secure  more  information  on  this  subject,  the  writer  began 
investigations  in  1896  with  whole  and  ground  corn  for  pigs,  and 
lias  completed  four  trials  as  reported  on  the  following  page. l 

*  Bepts.  Wis.  Exp.  Sta.,  1896-97. 


Value,  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


557 


In  these  trials  the  pigs  were  divided  into  even  lots,  one  lot 
receiving  corn  meal  ground  fine  and  the  other  shelled  corn.  Some 
middlings  was  fed  in  order  to  secure  more  economical  gains,  the 
allowance  being  the  same  for  both  lots  on  trial.  The  corn  used 
was  Number  2  Iowa  yellow  dent,  containing  about  twelve  per  cent, 
moisture.  Summarizing  the  results  we  have  the  following: 

Feeding  pigs  whole  corn  or  shelled  corn,  with  middlings  additional  — 
Wisconsin  Station. 


Av.  wt. 

at  be- 

Av. 

Total  1 
100  Ibs 

*eed  for 
5.  gain. 

Feed. 

gin- 
ning. 

Av. 

gain. 

daily 
gain. 

Corn- 
meal 
ration. 

Whole- 
corn 
ration. 

1896. 

First  trial,  9  pigs  in  each  lot. 
Lot   I    Fed  corn  meal 

Lbs. 
346 

Lbs. 
150 

Lbs. 
2  14 

Lbs. 
443 

Lbs. 

Lot  II    Fed  shelled  corn 

354 

137 

1  96 

481 

Second  trial,  10  pigs  in  each  lot 
Lot   I    Fed  corn  meal 

223 

108 

1  54 

487 

Lot  II.  Fed  shelled  corn 

225 

79 

1  13 

591 

1897. 
First  trial,  9  pigs  in  each  lot. 
Lot   I    Fed  corn  meal 

210 

150 

1  78 

442 

Lot  II.  Fed  shelled  corn 

212 

109 

1  30 

501 

Second  trial,  7  pigs  in  each  lot. 
Lot   I.  Fed  corn  meal 

198 

82 

1.37 

462 

Lot  II.  Fed  shelled  corn 

183 

79 

1  25 

424 

Average  of  four  trials,  70 
pigs  in  all      ..  . 

459 

499 

In  the  trials  reported  above,  seventy  pigs  in  all  were  used. 
With  so  large  a  number  the  average  presents  figures  of  value  on 
the  question  under  consideration.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  three  of 
the  four  trials,  corn  meal  was  more  economical  than  whole  corn. 
The  average  for  the  four  trials  shows  that  459  pounds  of  corn 
meal  and  middlings,  or  499  pounds  of  whole  corn  and  middlings, 
were  required  to  make  100  pounds  of  gain.  The  saving  eifected 
by  grinding  the  corn  was  eight  per  cent.  (382,  536) 

849.  Value  of  corn  and  cob  meal. —  Sanborn  reports  experi- 
ments with  corn  and  cob  meal  for  pig  feeding  from  the  New 
Hampshire1  and  Missouri  Agricultural  Colleges.2 

1  Kept.  New  Hamp.  Bd.  Agr.  1880.  pp.  259-262. 
»BoL  1,  Col.  of  Agr.,  1883. 


558 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Shelton,  of  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College, 1  also  conducted  a 
trial  with  the  same  material.  Their  findings  are  summarized  in 
the  following  table: 

Feeding  corn  and  cob  meal  in  comparison  with  corn  meal  to  pigs  — 
New  Hampshire,  Missouri  and  Kansas  Agricultural  Colleges. 


Av. 

wt.  at 
be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Corn 
and  cob 
meal 
eaten. 

Corn 
meal 
eaten. 

Gain  while  on  — 

Feed  for  100 
pounds  gain. 

Corn 
and  cob 
meal. 

Corn 
meal. 

Corn 
and  cob 
meal. 

Corn 
meal. 

New  Hampshire 
Missouri 

Lbs. 

52 
161 
199 

Lbs. 

1,915 

2,893 
3,619 

Lbs. 

1,527 
3,196 
3,832 

Lbs. 

416 
456 
557 

Lbs. 

317 

638 
572 

Lbs. 

460 
634 
650 

Lbs. 

482 
501 
670 

Kansas  .  . 

In  the  New  Hampshire  and  Kansas  trials,  corn  and  cob  meal 
proved  superior  to  the  same  weight  of  corn  meal,  while  in  the 
Missouri  trial  corn  meal  was  more  valuable. 

Practical  experience  is  strongly  in  favor  of  using  the  cob  with 
the  grain  when  feeding  meal  to  farm  animals.  (158) 

850.  Gluten  meal  and  corn  compared  with  wheat. —  At  the  Cor- 
nell Station, 2  Watson  divided  a  bunch  of  twelve  pigs  into  two 
lots  of  six  each,  the  first  lot  receiving  wheat  meal  and  the  second 
a  mixture  of  corn  meal  and  gluten  meal,  both  being  fed  skim 
milk  in  addition.  Feeding  began  October  10  and  continued  four 
months,  with  the  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Corn  and  gluten  meal  compared  with  wheat  meal  —  Cornell  Station. 


Feed  consumed. 

Feed  for  100 

Av. 

Ibs.  gain. 

wt.  at 

Av. 

Corn 

begin- 
ning. 

gain. 

Skim 
milk. 

Wheat. 

meal 
and 
gluten 

Milk. 

Grain 

meal. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lot   I  fed  wheat 

61 

198 

8,110 

3,473 

682 

292 

Lot  II,  fed  corn  meal 

and  gluten  meal... 

66 

218 

8,110 

3,561 

621 

272 

1  Kept.  1894. 

2  Bui.  89. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


559 


The  table  shows  that  a  combination  of  gluten  meal  and  corn 
meal  was  about  seven  per  cent,  superior  to  wheat  meal  when  both 
were  fed  in  connection  with  skim  milk.  (161-4,  166-8) 

851.  Wheat. —  Because  of  the  low  price  of  wheat  during  recent 
years,  a  number  of  Stations  have  endeavored  to  determine  its 
value  as  a  feed  for  fattening  pigs.  Trials  at  four  of  the  Stations 
are  summarized  in  the  following  table: 

Nummary  of  tests  with  wheat  meal  and  corn  meal  for  pig  feeding  — 

Various  Stations. 


Station. 

Av.  wt.  at 

beginning. 

No.  of 
days 
fed. 

Feed  eaten. 

Feed  for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Corn 
meal 
fed. 

Wheat 
meal 
fed. 

Corn 
meal. 

Wheat 
meal. 

Corn 
meal. 

Wheat 
meal. 

Kansas* 

Lbs. 

152 
136 
96 
243 
247 

Lbs. 

163 
137 
103 
247 
247 

77 
70 
90 
63 
126 

Lbs. 

2,294 
1,228 
1,159 
1,212 
6,014 

Lbs. 

•2,257 
1,273 
1,144 
1,206 
6,054 

Lbs. 

439 
453 
,458 
499 
496 

Lbs. 

411 

438 
481 
522 
465 

Ohiof  

8outh  Dakota}... 
Wisconsin  $  

AVisconsin  $ 

469 

463 

*  Bui.  53.    f  Kan.  State  Bd.  Agr.,  Sept.  30,  1894.    }  Bui.  38.    |  Kept.  1895. 

The  average  of  the  above  five  trials  at  four  Stations  shows  that 
six  pounds  more  of  corn  meal  than  of  wheat  meal  were  required 
to  produce  one  hundred  pounds  of  gain,  live  weight,  with  pigs. 
The  difference  being  so  small,  we  may  conclude  that  wheat  meal 
and  corn  meal  are  practically  of  equal  value  for  fattening  swine. 

852.  Combining  wheat  and  corn  meal. —  In  the  preceding  article 
it  was  shown  that  wheat  meal  and  corn  meal  were  practically  of 
•equal  value  for  pig  feeding.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station,  while 
feeding  wheat  meal  to  pigs,  the  writer  fed  a  mixture  of  corn 
meal  and  wheat  meal  to  other  lots  to  test  the  value  of  mixtures 
over  single  feeds.  By  these  feeding  trials  it  was  shown  that  a 
mixture  of  wheat  and  corn  meal,  equal  parts,  was  more  effective 
than  wheat  meal  alone,  the  saving  by  feeding  the  mixture  amount- 
ing to  five  per  cent.  In  these  results  we  have  a  good  illustration 
of  the  economy  of  feeding  grains  in  combination  rather  than 


560 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


singly.  (759)  The  results  of  these  trials  in  which  a  mixture  of 
wheat  meal  and  corn  meal  were  fed  in  opposition  to  corn  meal 
alone,  are  as  follows: 

Feeding  wheat  meal  and  a  mixture  of  wheat  and  corn  meal  —  Wiscon- 
sin Station. 


Av.  weight  at 

Total  feed  con- 

Feed for  100  Ibs. 

beginning. 

sumed. 

gain. 

Half 

No.  of 

Half 

Half 

Wheat 

corn 
meal. 

days 
fed. 

Wheat 

corn 
meal, 

Wheat 

corn 
meal. 

meal. 

half 

meal. 

half 

meal. 

half 

wheat 

wheat 

wheat 

meal. 

meal. 

meal. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

First  trial.... 

113 

116 

70 

975 

988 

510 

502 

Second  trial. 

119 

112 

70 

1,054 

1,054 

502 

488 

Third  trial... 

247 

246 

63 

1,206 

1,227 

522 

491 

Fourth  trial. 

247 

241 

126 

6,054 

6,088 

465 

460 

Average  .. 

500 

485 

853.  Feeding  sheaf  wheat. —  The  value  of  unthreshed  wheat 
was  determined  by  French,  at  the  Oregon  Station.1  Twelve 
high-grade  Berkshire  pigs  about  eight  months  old  were  divided 
into  two  lots  of  six  each,  the  first  being  fed  a  mixture  of  three 
parts  chopped  (coarse-ground)  wheat  and  one  part  each  of  shorts 
and  ground  oats,  the  second  lot  being  supplied  with  wheat  in  the 
sheaf.  Sample  sheaves  when  threshed  showed  that  thirty-five  per 
cent,  of  their  weight  was  grain,  and  the  grain  consumed  was  cal- 
culated on  this  basis.  The  results  of  the  trial,  which  lasted  from 
September  3  to  October  29,  are  summarized  below: 

Feeding  sheaf  wheat  in  comparison  with  ground  wheat ,  shorts  and 
ground  oats  —  Oregon  Station. 


Av.  wt.  at 
begin- 
ning. 

Average 
gain. 

Total 
grain 
fed. 

Feed  for 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Lot   I,  fed  grain  mixture  
Lot  II,  fed  sheaf  wheat  

Lbs. 

187 
188 

Lbs. 

150 
45 

Lbs. 

3,587 
1,988 

Lbs. 

397 
744 

*  Bui.  42. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


561 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  pigs  fed.  sheaf  wheat  consumed  about 
one-half  as  much  grain  as  did  the  other  lot  and  made  only  one- 
third  the  gain.  French  reports  that  the  pigs  fed  sheaf  wheat 
worked  from  three  to  four  hours  daily  in  separating  the  grain 
from  the  straw,  and  the  table  shows  that  even  with  this  exertion 
they  were  not  able  to  secure  sufficient  feed  to  permit  rapid  gains. 

854.  Middlings. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station, l  the  writer  fed  three 
lots  of  three  pigs  each  on  corn  meal  and  middlings,  giving  the 
first  corn  meal,  the  second  middlings,  and  the  third  a  mixture  of 
the  two,  equal  parts. 

At  the  Missouri  Agricultural  College, 2  Sanborn  conducted  two 
trials  with  middlings  in  comparison  with  corn  and  corn  meal. 
The  results  of  these  trials  are  summarized  below: 

Comparative  value  of  middlings  and  corn  meal  for  pig  feeding  — 
Wisconsin  Station  and  Missouri  Agricultural  College. 


Station  and  feed. 

Days 
fed. 

Feed 
eaten. 

Gain. 

Feed  for 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Wisconsin  Station. 
Lot      I,  corn  meal  

42 

Lbs. 
559 

Lbs. 
104 

Lbs. 
537 

Lot   II,  middlings  

42 

501 

96 

522 

Lot  III,  equal  parts   middlings  and 
fiorn  Tneal,  ,           ..    .    ... 

42 

470 

107 

439 

Missouri  College. 
Lot   I,  corn  meal  

116 

1,612 

250 

645 

Lot  II,  middlings  

116 

1  524 

252 

605 

Missouri  College. 
Lot   I,  corn  

46 

397 

79 

502 

Lot  II,  middlings  

46 

334 

91 

367 

In  these  trials  middlings  proved  superior  to  corn,  Sanborn' s 
second  trial  showing  a  remarkably  high  value  for  this  feed.  This 
investigator,  commenting3  on  this  by-product  of  wheat  milling, 
writes:  "  The  economy  of  ship-stuff  (middlings)  compared  with 
corn  has  been  noted  by  me  every  year  for  seven  years,  the  figures 
of  which  are  as  108  to  100." 

The  economy  of  feeding  middlings  and  corn  meal  in  combina- 
tion instead  of  separately  is  shown  in  the  Wisconsin  trial,  where 

1  Kept.  1885.  2  Buls.  10,  14.  8  Bui.  14. 

36 


562 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


439  pounds  of  the  corn-middlings  mixture  proved  as  valuable  as 
522  of  middlings  or  537  of  corn  meal  when  fed  separately.  While 
middlings  were  superior  to  corn  when  fed  alone,  a  combination 
of  the  two  proved  twenty  per  cent,  more  economical  than  mid- 
dlings alone.  (107,  174) 

855.  Wheat  bran  compared  with  middlings. —  At  the  Maine  Sta- 
tion, *  Jordan  fed  pigs,  weighing  200  pounds  each,  with  bran  and 
skim  milk  in  one  case,  and  middlings  and  skim  milk  in  another, 
the  trial  lasting  seventy- two  days,  with  results  as  below: 

Lot  A  fed:  Gain. 

413  pounds  middlings  1  tin          *~ 

1,126  pounds  skim  milk} 110  pounds. 

Lot  B  fed: 

413  pounds  bran           \                                             -,.        ,„  •. 
1,126  pounds  skimmilk  I 4  Pounds- 

The  results  show  that  with  the  same  allowance  of  feed  the  mid- 
dlings were  twice  as  valuable  as  the  bran.   (174-5,  896) 

856.  Bran  with  corn  for  pig  feeding. —  At  the  Alabama  Station, 2 
Duggar  fed  Essex  pigs  corn  and  an  equal  mixture  of  corn  and 
wheat  bran  for  a  period  of  sixteen  weeks,  there  being  three  pigs 
on  each  feed.     The  results  are  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  corn  or  a  mixture  of  corn  and  wheat  bran — Alabama  Station. 


Av.  wt. 

Food 

Grain  fed. 

at  be- 
gin- 

Food 
eaten. 

Gain. 

for  100 
pounds 

ning. 

gain. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

58 

844 

173 

487 

Lot  II  fed  \  corn  i  wheat  bran       .... 

60 

1,044 

203 

521 

The  two  trials  just  reported  show  that  wheat  bran  cannot  suc- 
cessfully be  used  in  large  amount  in  pig  feeding,  especially  with 
young  animals.  This  fact  is  doubtless  due  to  the  coarse,  fibrous 
character  of  bran  and  the  large  percentage  of  inert  matter  it 
carries. 

857.  Barley  meal. —  To  ascertain  the  value  of  barley  for  pig 
feeding  the  writer  conducted  trials  at  the  Wisconsin  Station8  in 

1  Kept.  1889.  2  Bui.  82.  8  Rept.  1890. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


563 


which  barley  meal  was  fed  in  opposition  to  corn  meal.  In  the 
first  trial  there  were  five  pigs  in  each  lot,  and  in  the  second  six. 
The  results  are  summarized  below: 

Feeding   barley  meal   and   corn   meal  to  pigs  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Grain  fed. 

Av.  wt. 

at  begin- 
ning. 

Food 
eaten. 

Gain. 

Grain 

consumed 
for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Barley  meal              

Lbs. 

208 

Lbs. 
2  832 

Lbs. 
601 

Lbs. 
471 

Corn  meal         

209 

3,100 

713 

435 

Barley  meal  and  milk  vs.  corn  meal  and  milk. 


Grain  fed. 

Av.  wt. 

at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Feed  eaten. 

Water 
drank. 

Gain. 

Feed  and  water 
for  100  Ibs.  gain. 

Grain 

Milk. 

Grain 

Milk. 

W'ter 
drank 

Barley  meal  

Lbs. 

79 
73 

Lbs. 

1,993 
1,807 

Lbs. 

2,404 
2,192 

Lbs. 

3,511 

1,686 

Lbs. 

604 
591 

Lbs. 

330 
306 

Lbs. 

398 
371 

Lbs. 

581 

285 

C'orn  meal  

By  the  first  table  we  learn  that — 

471  pounds  of  barley  meal  produced  100  pounds  of  gain. 
435  pounds  of  corn  meal  produced  100  pounds  of  gain. 

This  shows  a  difference  of  thirty-six  pounds  in  favor  of  corn 
meal.  In  the  second  trial  there  is  a  difference  of  twenty-four 
pounds  of  meal  and  twenty-seven  pounds  of  skim  milk.  Averaging 
both  trials  we  find  that  it  required  eight  per  cent,  more  barley 
meal  than  corn  meal  to  produce  a  given  gain.  These  results  co- 
incide with  Fjord's  experiments  in  showing  that  barley  is  some- 
what less  valuable  than  corn  for  fattening  swine,  though  the  dif- 
ference is  not  large.  (178,  894)  When  we  take  into  account  the 
fact  that  barley  has  been  found  by  the  Danes  to  be  the  best  single 
grain  for  the  production  of  bacon  of  the  highest  quality,  its  value 
in  swine  feeding  is  apparent. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  the  second  trial  that  the  barley-fed 
pigs  drank  about  twice  as  much  water  as  those  getting  corn  meal. 


564 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


858.  Oats. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station, l  the  writer  conducted 
trials  with  whole  and  ground  oats  fed  with  corn  meal  to  pigs, 
with  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Feeding  whole  and  ground  oats  with  corn  meal  to  pigs  —  Wisconsin 

Station. 


Feed. 

Av.  wt. 
at  be- 
ginning 

Daily 
gain. 

Feed 
eaten. 

Gain. 

Grain 
for  100 
pounds 
gain. 

Whole  oats. 
%  whole  oats  ^  corn  meal 

Lbs. 
117 

Lbs. 
68 

Lbs. 

1,388 

Lbs. 
246 

Lbs. 
564 

J  whole  oats  $  corn  meal    .... 

114 

82 

1,457 

296 

492 

Ground  oats. 

$  ground  oats,  £  corn  meal  
|  ground  oats,  f  corn  meal  

113 
114 

1.03 
1.27 

1,593 
1,839 

371 

457 

429 

402 

We  learn  from  the  above  that  the  best  returns  were  secured 
when  feeding  a  ration  consisting  of  one-third  ground  oats  and 
two-thirds  corn  meal.  Whole  oats  gave  poorer  returns  than  ground 
oats.  The  feed  requirements  for  100  pounds  of  gain  in  both  trials 
where  ground  oats  were  used  were  very  low,  and  show  the  high 
value  of  this  grain  for  pig  feeding  when  ground  and  fed  in  com- 
bination with  corn  meal.  (186-7) 

859.  Oat  feed. —  Oat  feed  was  tested  at  the  Massachusetts  Sta- 
tion2 by  Lindsey.  Six  grade  Chester  White  pigs  from  the  same 
litter  were  divided  into  two  lots,  with  four  pigs  in  the  first  and 
two  in  the  second.  One  lot  received  oat  feed,  the  other  corn  meal, 
both  getting  skim  milk,  with  the  following  results: 

Oat  feed  in  comparison  with  corn  meal  —  Massachusetts  Station. 


Total  feed. 

Gain. 

Feed  for  100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Milk. 

Meal. 

Milk. 

Meal. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Four  pigs  getting  oat  feed  
Two  pigs  getting  corn  meal... 

5,389 
2,695 

869 
435 

377 
225 

1,429 
1,198 

231 
193 

About  20  per  cent,  more  oat  feed  than  corn  meal  was  required 
*  Kept.  1889.  *  Rept.  1896. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


565 


to  produce  100  pounds  of  gain.     The  lower  value  of  this  feed  was 
doubtless  due  to  the  oat  hulls  it  contained.   (189) 

860.  Peas. —  At  the  Utah  Station, l  Mills  fed  one  lot  of  pigs  on 
ground  peas  and  bran,  and  another  upon  corn  and  bran,  equal 
parts.  The  trial,  which  was  conducted  in  winter,  lasted  161  days. 

At  the  South  Dakota  Station, 2  Chilcott  fed  soaked  peas  to  one 
lot  of  pigs,  and  soaked  corn  meal  to  a  second.    The  trial  was  con- 
ducted during  the  fall,  lasting  90  days,  with  results  as  follows: 
Feeding  peas  to  pigs  —  Utah  and  South  Dakota  Stations. 


Station. 

Feed. 

No.  of 
animals 
on  trial. 

Av.  wt 
at  be- 
ginning 

Daily 
gain. 

Grain 
eaten. 

Gain. 

Grain 
forlOO 
Ibs. 
gain. 

Utah. 

Ground   peas  and 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

bran,  equal  parts, 
fed  wet  

3 

Ill 

1.09 

1,919 

528 

363 

Corn  and  bran 

3 

112 

.63 

1,379 

303 

455 

South 

Canada  field  peas, 

Dakota. 

unground,  soaked 

2 

82 

1.21 

918 

218 

421 

Corn  meal,  soaked.. 

2 

95 

1.40 

1,159 

253 

458 

In  both  cases  peas  proved  superior  to  corn.   (228) 

861.  Kaffir  corn. —  At  the  Kansas  Station,3  Georgeson  fed  red 

Kaffir- corn  meal  in  opposition  to  corn  meal  and  soja-bean  meal, 

with  the  results  given  below: 

Feeding  Kaffir-corn  meal  to  pigs  —  Kansas  Station. 


Feed. 

No.  of 
animals 
on  trial. 

Av.  wt. 

at  be- 
ginning 

Daily 
gain 
per 
head. 

Grain 
eaten. 

Gain. 

Grain 
for 
100 
Ibs. 
gain. 

First  trial.' 
Kaffir-corn  meal  

4 

Lbs. 
153 

Lbs. 
1  37 

Lbs. 
2,180 

Lbs. 
423 

Lbs. 
515 

Corn  meal  

4 

152 

1  70 

2,294 

523 

439 

Second  trial. 
Kaffir-corn  meal  

3     • 

63 

50 

1,188 

191 

621 

Corn  meal  

3 

64 

80 

1  477 

306 

482 

f  Kaffir-corn  meal  \ 
J  soja-bean  meal  / 

3 

62 

1.44 

2,166 

547 

396 

§  corn  meal  ") 

£  soja-bean  meal  / 

3 

62 

1.46 

2,048 

554 

369 

Bui.  34. 


2  Bui.  38. 


3  Buls.  53,  61. 


566 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  table  indicates  that  Kaffir- corn  meal  falls  from  eighteen  to 
thirty-three  per  cent,  below  corn  meal  in  value  for  pig  feeding. 
This  grain,  though  rich  in  carbohydrates,  lacks  protein,  and  is 
therefore  not  suitable  for  feeding  alone  to  young  pigs.  The  ad- 
vantage of  adding  some  substance  rich  in  protein  to  the  ration  of 
corn  or  Kaffir  corn  is  shown  in  the  last  trial,  where  the  soja-bean 
ineal  materially  increased  the  daily  gain  of  the  pigs,  and  cut  down 
the  requirements  of  feed  for  100  pounds  of  gain  in  a  marked  de- 
gree. It  is  probable  that  if  Kaffir  corn  were  boiled  it  would  prove 
more  satisfactory  in  pig  feeding,  as  was  shown  to  be  the  case  with 
pigeon-grass  seed.  (195,  865) 

862.  Buckwheat. —  At  the  Ottawa  Station, l  Eobertson  fed  lots 
of  five  pigs  each  on  ground  buckwheat  and  ground  wheat,  the 
trial  lasting  77  days.  A  second  trial  with  six  pigs  in  each  lot 
was  conducted  for  140  days.  For  half  the  ration  one  lot  received 
ground  buckwheat,  the  other  ground  wheat;  the  other  half  of 
the  ration  consisted  of  ground  barley,  rye  and  wheat,  and  wheat 
bran.  In  all  trials  the  meal  was  soaked  thirty  hours  before  feed- 
ing. The  results  were  as  fellows: 

Feeding  buckwheat  in  comparison   with  wheat  and  mixed  grain  — 

Ottawa  Station. 


Av.  wt. 

Feed 

Feed  given. 

at  be- 
gin- 

Feed 
eaten. 

Gain. 

for  100 
Ibs. 

ning. 

gain. 

JWrst  trial. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Ground  buckwheat 

103 

2,109 

474 

445 

Ground  wheat.  

97 

1,272 

310 

410 

Second  trial. 

$  ground  buckwheat,  £  mixture  of 
barley,  rye,  wheat,  and  wheat  bran. 
£  ground  wheat,  £  mixture  barley, 

45 

3,238 

800 

405 

rye,  wheat,  and  wheat  bran  .   ... 

49 

2,463 

649 

380 

This  shows  that  though  buckwheat  has  a  high  value  it  does 
not  quite  equal  wheat  as  a  feed  for  pigs.  Six  per  cent,  more  grain 
was  required  in  the  buckwheat  mixture  than  in  the  wheat  mixture 
for  100  pounds  of  gain.  (192) 

1  Repts.  1894-95. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


567 


863.  Cowpeas. —  At  the  Alabama  Station,  *  Duggar  fed  lots  of 
four  Essex  pigs  each  upon  corn,  cowpeas,  or  a  mixture  of  the 
two,  for  a  period  of  sixteen  weeks,  with  the  results  given  in  the 

table: 

• 
Feeding  corn  or  cowpeas,  or  equal  mixtures  of  the  two  —  Alabama 

Station. 


Av.  wt. 

Feed 

at  be- 
gin- 

Feed 
eaten. 

Gain. 

for  100 
Ibs. 

ning. 

gam. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs, 

Lot      I,  corn  

58 

844 

173 

487 

Lot  II  cowpeas                     

60 

954 

198 

481 

Lot  III,  £  corn,  $  cowpeas  

62 

909 

210 

433 

The  above  shows  that  corn  and  cowpeas  were  practically  equal 
for  producing  gain,  while  a  mixture  of  the  two  proved  superior 
to  either  alone.  (108,  230) 

864.  Rice  meal. —  At  the  Massachusetts  Station, 2  Lindsey  tested 
the  value  of  rice  meal  for  pig  feeding  in  the  following  manner: 
A  litter  of  six  ten -week-old  pigs  was  divided  into  two  lots  of  three 
each.  The  first  lot  was  fed  rice  meal,  and  the  second  corn  meal, 
both  getting  skim  milk  in  addition.  The  result  of  the  trial  was 
as  follows: 

Feeding  rice  meal  and  corn  meal  to  pigs  —  Massachusetts  Station. 


Feed. 

Feed 

eaten. 

Grain. 

Feed  fo] 

ga 

r  100  Ibs. 
in. 

Milk. 

Meal. 

Milk. 

MeaL 

Rice  meal  

Lbs. 
3,519 

Lbs. 

867 

Lbs. 
385 

Lbs. 
914 

Lbs. 

225 

3,519 

867 

386 

912 

225 

This  trial  shows  that,  when  fed  in  connection  with  skim  milk, 
rice  meal  has  practically  the  same  value  as  corn  meal  and  skim 
milk.  (191) 

865.  Pigeon-grass  seed. —  Two  trials  were  conducted  by  the 
writer  at  the  Wisconsin  Station3  with  pigeon-grass  seed  screened 

*  Bui.  82.  2  Kept,  1896.  3  Kept.  1894. 


5G8 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


from  wheat,  to  test  its  value  for  pig  feeding.  The  pigs  used  were 
pure-bred  Polands  and  Berkshires,  six  on  each  feed.  A  prelimi- 
nary trial  showed  that  the  pigs  would  eat  but  little  of  the  raw 
meal,  though  after  cooking  it  was  consumed  with  relish.  Accord- 
ingly the  trial  was  planned  as  follows:  Lot  I  received  a  ration 
consisting  of  two-thirds  pigeon-grass  meal,  thoroughly  cooked, 
mixed  with  one -third  corn  meal,  uncooked.  Lot  II  received 
corn  meal,  uncooked,  only.  To  Lot  III  was  fed  a  ration  of  one- 
third  pigeon-grass  seed  meal  and  two-thirds  corn  meal,  both  un- 
cooked. Lot  III  consumed  the  ration  containing  this  proportion 
of  pigeon-grass  seed  meal  without  serious  objection.  The  table 
summarizes  the  results: 

Feeding  pigeon-grass  meal,  cooked  and  uncooked,  with  corn  additional 
to  pigs  —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Kind  and  condition  of  feed. 

Av.  wt. 
at  be- 
ginning 

Gain. 

Feed  eaten. 

Grain 
for  100 
pounds 
gain. 

Corn 
meal. 

Pigeon- 
grass 
meal. 

Lot  I,  §  cooked  pigeon-grass  meal, 
^  corn  meal  uncooked 

Lbs. 

238 
238 

235 

Lbs. 

264 
224 

201 

Lbs. 

416 
1,199 

656 

Lbs. 
965 

Lbs. 

522 
535 

566 

Lot  II,  corn  meal  only,  uncooked. 
Lot  III,  £  pigeon-grass  meal,  un- 
cooked, f  corn  meal,  uncooked.. 

377 

The  above  shows  that  the  ration  containing  two-thirds  cooked 
pigeon-grass  meal  and  one-third  uncooked  corn  meal  was  superior 
to  corn  meal  only.  The  third  lot,  fed  one-third  pigeon-grass 
meal  and  two- thirds  corn  meal,  both  uncooked,  gave  poorer  re- 
turns than  the  others.  It  is  evident  that  pigeon-grass  seed  when 
cooked  is  a  valuable  feed  for  swine,  and  the  trials  show  it  was 
much  relished.  To  be  satisfactory  for  pig  feeding  the  seed  of  this 
grass  should  be  both  ground  and  cooked. 

866.  Potatoes. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station,1  the  writer  con- 
ducted trials  with  cooked  potatoes  mixed  with  uncooked  corn 
meal,  fed  in  opposition  to  uncooked  corn  meal  only,  to  fattening 
pigs.  The  potatoes  were  cooked  in  as  little  water  as  possible,  it 

1  Kept.  1890. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


569 


being  found  that  they  were  most  relished  when  so  prepared. 
After  cooking  they  were  mashed  in  the  kettle  and  corn  meal 
added,  the  whole  forming  a  thick  mush.  In  the  first  trial  there 
were  three  pigs  in  each  lot,  and  two  in  the  second,  the  trials  last- 
ing forty-two  days. 

Feeding  cooked  potatoes  with  corn  meal  addedj  and  corn  meal  only,  to 
fattening  pigs  —  Wisconsin  Station. 

Corn  meal  alone. 


Av.  wt.  at 
beginning 

Grain  fed. 

Gain. 

Corn  meal 
forlOOlbe. 
gain. 

First  trial 

Lbs. 
243 

Lbs. 
983 

Lbs. 
224 

Lbs. 

'    438 

Second  trial    

216 

578 

131 

441 

Corn  meal  and  potatoes. 


Av.  wt. 

at  be- 
ginning 

Feed  eaten. 

Gain. 

Feed  for  100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Corn 
meal. 

Pota- 
toes. 

Corn 
meal. 

Pota- 
toes. 

Lbs. 

870 
702 

First  trial  

Lbs. 

242 
223 

Lbs. 

444 
351 

Lbs. 

1,332 
1,053 

Lbs. 

153 
150 

Lbs. 

290 
234 

Second  trial  

Combining  the  first  and  second  trials  we  have  the  following: 

440  pounds  of  corn  meal  produced  100  pounds  of  gain. 
262  pounds  of  corn  meal  with  786  pounds  of  cooked  potatoes  produced 
100  pounds  of  gain. 

Prom  this  we  find  that  786  pounds  of  cooked  potatoes,  when  fed 
with  corn  meal,  effected  a  saving  of  178  pounds  of  corn  mealj  to 
save  100  pounds  of  corn  meal  would  therefore  require  441  pounds 
of  potatoes.  In  Fjord' s  experiments,  400  pounds  of  potatoes  were 
held  equal  to  100  pounds  of  grain.  As  corn  is  somewhat  more 
valuable  for  fattening  the  pig  than  the  grains  used  by  Fjord,  these 
results  may  be  considered  concordant  in  determining  the  value  of 
potatoes  and  meal.  (897)  In  general,  we  may  say  that  a  bushel  of 
corn  is  worth  four  and  one-half  bushels  of  potatoes  for  fattening 


570 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


purposes  when  cooked  and  fed  with  corn  meal.  Potatoes  may  have 
a  higher  value  than  the  rating  here  given,  in  furnishing  variety  in 
ration  to  growing  animals.  (316,  658) 

867.  Roots. —  At  the  Ottawa  Station, l  Eobertson  fed  a  mixture 
of  peas,  barley  and  rye,  steamed  and  warm,  to  one  lot  of  pigs, 
giving  a  second  lot  the  same  feed,  with  sugar  beets  additional. 
For  a  third  lot  the  grain  was  uncooked.  The  fourth  lot  received 
the  same  feed  as  the  third,  with  sugar  beets  additional. 

At  the  Utah  Station, 2  Sanborn  fed  wheat  to  one  lot  of  pigs  and 
wheat  and  roots  to  a  second.  In  a  second  trial  a  mixture  of  oats, 
peas,  wheat  and  barley  was  fed  to  one  lot,  with  roots  additional 
to  a  second. 

At  the  Ohio  Station, 3  Devol  fed  corn  to  one  lot  of  pigs  and  corn 
and  roots,  mostly  carrots,  to  a  second  lot.  The  results  of  these 
trials  are  summarized  in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  grain  with  and  without  roots  — Ottawa,  Utah  and  Ohio  Stations. 


Station. 

No.  of 
ani- 
mals. 

Av.  wt. 
at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Feed  eaten. 

Gain. 

Feed  for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Grain 

Boots 

Grain 

Roots 

Ottawa. 
Grain  only       

4 
4 
4 
4 

3 
3 
2 
2 

5 
5 

Lbs. 

75 
47 

77 
50 

95 
90 
61 
65 

140 
141 

Lbs. 

2,928 
2,411 
2,398 
2,223 

858 
120 
1,120 
500 

2,520 
2,562 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

702 
625 
564 
571 

59 
52 
172 
152 

432 
472 

Lbs. 

416 

386 
425 
389 

607 
231 
651 
329 

583 
543 

Lbs. 

Grain  and  roots  
Grain  only 

1,538 

246 

Grain  and  roots  

Utah. 
Grain  only 

1,563 

273 

Grain  and  roots  
Grain  only     

828 

1,592 

Grain  and  roots  

Ohio. 
Grain  only 

2,346 

1,543 

Grain  and  roots  

1,213 

257 

Averaging  the  above  trials  we  learn  that  feeding  400  pounds  of 
roots  saved  65  pounds  of  grain.  On  this  basis,  615  pounds  of  roots 
would  save  100  pounds  of  grain.  The  results  conform  closely  with 
the  Danish  findings,  in  which  one  pound  of  barley  proved  equal  to 


Kept.  1891. 


Rept.  1891. 


Rept.  1884. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuff's  for  Pigs. 


571 


six  to  eight  pounds  of  mangels  and  four  to  eight  pounds  of  fod- 
der beets.   (325) 

868.  Artichoke. —  Schweitzer,  of  the  Missouri  Station, J  reports 
a  trial  by  Porter  in  which  artichokes  were  fed  with  wheat  meal 
to  pigs,  325  pounds  of  wheat  meal  and  820  pounds  of  artichokes 
giving  100  pounds  increase.     Artichokes  were  found  to  have  the 
same  feeding  value  as  potatoes.   (323,  488) 

868a.  Milk. —  Scheven2  found  that  when  whole  (unskimmed) 
milk  was  fed  to  pigs  twelve  weeks  old,  from  900  to  1,620  pounds 
produced  100  pounds  of  gain,  the  average  being  1,253  pounds. 
Studying  the  value  of  skim  milk,  this  investigator  found  that  1,613 
pounds  of  sweet  skim  milk  and  1,545  pounds  of  sour  skim  milk 
produced  100  pounds  of  gain.  He  concludes  that  skim  milk  i& 
rendered  more  useful  by  combining  it  with  starchy  feeds. 

869.  Feeding  separator  skim  milk. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station, 8 
the  writer  conducted  nineteen  trials  with  eighty-eight  pigs  of  all 
ages,  to  determine  the  value  of  separator  skim  milk  in  combina- 
tion with  corn  meal.     The  proportion  of  milk  to  meal  varied  from 
one  to  nine  pounds  of  milk  for  each  pound  of  meal  fed.     For 
convenience  the  results  are  arranged  in  groups  j  the  first  group 
comprising  the  trials  in  which  not  over  three  pounds  of  skim 
milk  were  fed  with  one  pound  of  corn  meal,  the  second  when 
from  three  to  five  pounds  of  milk  were  given  with  each  pound  of 
corn  meal,  etc.     The  quantity  of  meal  and  milk  required  for  100 
pounds  of  gain  is  here  shown: 

Separator  skim  milk  and  corn  meal  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain — 
Wisconsin  Station. 


Feed  for  100 

No.  of 

pounds  gain. 

trials. 

Meal. 

Milk. 

When  feeding: 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1  pound  corn  meal  to  1-3  pounds  skim  milk.. 
1  pound  corn  meal  to  3-5  pounds  skim  milk.. 
1  pound  corn  meal  to  5-7  pounds  skim  milk.. 
1  pound  corn  meal  to  7-9  pounds  skim  milk.. 

3 
8 
5 
3 

321 

265 
250 

207 

585 
1,048 
1,434 
1,616 

1  Bui.  29.  2  Martiny,  Die  Milch. 


3  Rept.  1895. 


572 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


Assuming  that  500  pounds  of  corn  meal,  fed  alone,  would  have 
produced  100  pounds  of  gain  with  these  pigs,  we  find  that  with 
the  first  group  585  pounds  of  skim  milk  effected  a  saving  of  179 
pounds  of  corn  meal.  On  this  basis,  327  pounds  of  skim  milk 
equals  100  pounds  of  corn  meal  when  not  over  three  pounds  of 
milk  are  fed  with  each  pound  of  meal.  Calculating  the  value  of 
skim  milk  in  connection  with  corn  meal  for  pig  feeding  according 
to  the  proportion  fed  with  the  meal,  we  deduce  the  following: 

When  feeding  1  pound  of  corn  meal  with  from  1-3  pounds  of  separator 

skim  milk,  327  pounds  of  skim  milk  saves  100  pounds  of  meal. 
When  feeding  1  pound  of  corn  meal  with  from  3-5  pounds  of  separator 

skim  milk,  446  pounds  of  skim  milk  saves  100  pounds  of  meal. 
When  feeding  1  pound  of  corn  meal  with  from  5-7  pounds  of  separator 

skim  milk,  574  pounds  of  skim  milk  saves  100  pounds  of  meal. 
When  feeding  1  pound  of  corn  meal  with  from.  7-9  pounds  of  separator 

skim  milk,  552  pounds  of  skim  milk  saves  100  pounds  of  meal. 
Average  of  all,  475  pounds  of  skim  milk  equals  100  pounds  of  meal. 

Fjord's  experiments  show  six  pounds  of  skim  milk  equal  to  one 
pound  of  grain.  The  difference  in  the  ratios  is  doubtless  due  to 
the  fact  that  Fjord  fed  a  much  larger  proportion  of  milk  to  meal 
than  was  usually  employed  in  the  Wisconsin  trials.  (357,  659) 

870.  Placing  a  money  value  on  separator  skim  milk. —  The  feeder 
wishing  to  know  the  money  value  of  skim  milk  measured  in  corn  at 
varying  prices  will  find  the  following  table  of  value: 

Value  of  separator  sldm  milk  in  combination  with  corn  meal  for  pig 
feeding,  with  corn  at  varying  prices. 


Value  of  corn. 

Value  of  100  pounds  of  skim  milk. 

When  feed- 

When feed- 

ing 1  to  3 
pounds  of 
milk  for  1 
pound    of 

ing  7  to  9 
pounds  of 
milk  for  1 
pound    of 

Aver- 
age of 
all  trials 

corn  meal. 

corn  meal. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

$10  per  ton 

(28     cents  per  bushel 

15 

9 

11 

12  per  ton 

(33.6  cents  per  bushel 

18 

11 

13 

14  per  ton 

(39.2  cents  per  bushel 

21 

13 

15 

16  per  ton 

(44.8  cents  per  bushel 

24 

15 

17 

18  per  ton 
20  per  ton 
30  per  ton 

(50.4  cents  per  bushel 
(56.0  cents  per  bushel 
(84.0  cents  per  bushel 

28 
31 
46 

16 

18 

•27 

19 
21 
32 

Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


573 


The  table  shows  that  when  corn  is  worth  $10  per  ton  (28  cents 
per  bushel),  separator  skim  milk  has  a  value  for  pig  feeding  of 
15  cents  per  hundred  pounds,  provided  not  more  than  three 
pounds  of  milk  are  fed  with  each  pound  of  meal.  If,  however, 
the  feeder  gives  nine  pounds  of  milk  with  each  pound  of  meal, 
then  skim  milk  is  worth  only  nine  cents  per  hundred  pounds. 
The  average  of  the  trials  is  eleven  cents.  With  higher  values  for 
corn  there  is  a  relative  increase  in  value  for  skim  milk. 

In  the  above  we  have  measured  skim  milk  with  corn  meal  for 
making  gains  with  pigs.  Those  familiar  with  this  feeding  stuff, 
appreciating  its  worth  for  bone  and  muscle  building,  know  that 
in  many  cases  it  has  a  higher  value  than  is  here  given,  especially 
for  growing  pigs. 

871.  Sweet  and  sour  milk  compared. —  At  the  Vermont  Station, 1 
Cooke  fed  sweet  and  sour  milk  to  pigs,  there  being  three  animals 
in  each  lot  in  the  first  trial,  and  four  in  each  lot  in  the  second. 
The  sour  milk  was  allowed  to  reach  the  loppered  or  coagulated 
stage  before  being  fed. 

Feeding  sweet  and  sour  skim  milk  to  very  young  pigs — Vermont 

Station. 


Feed 

Av.  wt. 
of  pigs 
jit  be~ 

Feed< 

?aten. 

Gain. 

Feed  foi 
gaJ 

r  100  Ibs, 
n. 

ginning 

Milk. 

Grain. 

Milk. 

Grain. 

First  trial. 
Sweet  skim  milk... 
Sour  skim  milk  
Second  trial. 
Sweet  milk 

Lbs. 

16 
17 

31 

Lbs. 

6,057 
5,996 

9  632 

Lbs. 

935 
926 

2  100 

Lbs. 

473 
524 

955 

Lbs. 

1,280 
1,144 

1  009 

Lbs. 

198 
177 

220 

Sour  milk  

29 

9,632 

2  100 

963 

1,000 

218 

In  the  second  trial  the  results  were  practically  equal;  in  the 
first  trial  the  pigs  getting  sour  milk  gave  better  returns.  Of  these, 
Cooke  writes:  "It  was  evident  within  three  weeks  after  the  pigs 
were  put  on  the  separate  diets  that  those  having  sour  milk  were  eat- 
ing their  food  with  a  better  relish,  were  looking  sleeker  and  grow- 
ing faster,  although  both  lots  ate  their  food  up  clean. " 

*  Bepts.  1891-92. 


574 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


The  evident  superiority  of  sour  milk  over  sweet  milk  (868a) 
for  pig  feeding  —  in  most  cases  at  least  —  awaits  explanation 
from  the  investigators. 

872.  Buttermilk. —  At  the  Massachusetts  Station,1  Goessmann 
fed  lots  of  three  pigs  each  on  buttermilk  and  skim  milk  to  ascer- 
tain their  relative  value.  Both  lots  received  corn  meal  additional, 
with  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Feeding  buttermilk  and  sldm  milk  —  Massachusetts  Station. 


Feed 

Av.  wt. 

at  be- 

Feed* 

saten. 

Gain. 

Feed  foi 
gai 

•  100  Ibs. 
n. 

ginning 

Milk. 

Corn 
meal. 

Milk. 

Corn 
meal. 

Buttermilk  

Lbs. 
48 

Lbs. 
8,372 

Lbs. 
718 

Lbs. 
619 

Lbs. 
1,351 

Lbs. 
116 

Skim  milk  

49 

8,592 

713 

618 

1,390 

115 

It  will  be  seen  that  buttermilk  gave  as  good  returns  as  skim 
milk.  In  general  it  may  be  assumed  that  when  no  water  has  been 
added  to  buttermilk  it  has  a  feeding  value  with  pigs  equal  to 
skim  milk.  (358) 

873.  Whey. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station, 2  the  writer  conducted 
several  trials  with  whey  for  pig  feeding,  two  of  which  are  reported 
below.  At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College, 8  Dean  reports  two 
trials  with  this  by-product.  In  these  trials,  one  lot  of  pigs  was 
maintained  on  meal  only,  the  pigs  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  get- 
ting a  mixture  of  corn  meal  and  middlings,  and  those  at  the 
Ontario  College  wheat  and  barley  mixed  with  an  equal  weight  of 
shorts. 

The  whey  used  in  these  trials  was  from  the  manufacture  of  full- 
cream  cheese;  hence  it  contained  a  considerable  quantity  of  fat 
and  some  casein.  In  Fjord's  experiments,  in  Denmark,  1,200 
pounds  of  whey  equaled  100  pounds  of  meal.  (887,  889)  The 
whey  used  by  this  investigator  was  the  by-product  from  the  manu- 
facture of  skim  cheese  from  centrifugal  skim  milk.  Such  whey 
is  necessarily  poorer  in  fat  than  that  used  in  American  trials. 
(359,  660) 

»  Bept.  1884.        "    *  Bept.  1891.  «  Bept.  1896. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


675 


The  results  of  the  Wisconsin  and  Ontario  trials  with  whey  as 
a  feed  for  pigs  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  trials  with  grain  and  whey — Wisconsin  Station  and  Ontario 

College. 

Wisconsin  Station. 


No.  of 
pigs  in 

Daily 
gain 
DGF 

Feed  foi 
ga 

r  100  Ibs. 
in. 

trial. 

head. 

Meal. 

Whey. 

First  tried. 
Lot     I                                      

3 

Lbs. 
1.00 

Lbs. 
463 

Lbs. 

Lot  II                     .?... 

3 

1  47 

327 

687 

Lot  III.  ..                

3 

1.11 

257 

1.815 

Lot  IV  

3 

1.13 

181 

1,871 

Average  for  whey-fed  lots  

255 

1,458 

Second  tried. 
Lot     I 

4 

93 

486 

Lot  II.          

4 

1  21 

372 

1,100 

Lot  III  :. 

4 

1  12 

289 

1.726 

Lot  IV  

4 

1.09 

232 

2,309 

Average  for  whey-fed  lots  

298 

1,712 

Ontario  Agricultural  College. 


Lot  I 

5 

1  43 

494 

Lot  II  

5 

1  76 

381 

860 

Lot  III  

6 

1  78 

383 

819 

Averaging  the  results  of  the  trials  we  find  that — 

481  pounds  of  grain  produced  100  pounds  gain. 

303  pounds  of  grain  with  1,398  pounds  of  whey  produced  100  pounds  gain. 

This  shows  that  1,398  pounds  of  whey  saved  178  pounds  of 
grain.  On  this  basis,  785  pounds  of  whey  equals  100  pounds  of 
grain. 

874.  Meat  scrap. —  An  experiment  by  Watson  at  the  Cornell 
Station1  throws  light  on  the  value  of  meat  scrap  for  feeding  pigs. 
A  bunch  of  twelve  pigs  divided  into  two  lots  of  six  each  was  fed 
four  months,  beginning  October  10,  as  follows:  Lot  I  received 
oorn  meal  only,  while  Lot  II  was  fed  one  part  meat  scrap  to  two 

1  Bui.  89. 


576 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


parts  corn  meal,  by  weight.     The  results  of  the  trial  are  shown 
in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  corn  meal  and  meat  scrap  in  comparison  with  corn  meal 
only  —  Cornell  Station. 


Av.  wt. 
at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Av. 

gain. 

Feed  consumed. 

Feed  for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Corn 
meal. 

Corn  meal 
and  meat 
scrap. 

Corn 
meal. 

Corn  meal 
and  meat 
scrap. 

Lot  I,  fed  corn  meal 
only.  . 

Lbs. 
64 

64 

Lbs. 
103 

173 

Lbs. 
2,639 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
426 

Lbs. 

Lot  II,  fed  corn  meal 
and  meat  scrap  

4,147 

400 

The  meat  scrap  caused  a  large  consumption  of  feed  —  something 
desired  by  feeders.  The  pigs  fed  meat  scrap  gained  70  per  cent, 
more  than  those  fed  corn  meal  only,  but  the  saving  in  feed  for  a 
given  gain  was  only  6  per  cent.  Somewhat  more  lean  meat  was 
found  in  the  carcass  of  the  pigs  receiving  the  meat  scrap.  (339) 

875.  Pasture. —  At  the  Utah  Station,1  Mills  conducted  trials 
covering  four  seasons,  with  pigs  in  pens  and  on  pastures  consisting 
of  alfalfa  and  grass,  principally  the  former.  (307)  Some  pigs 
were  fed  all  the  grain  they  would  consume,  while  others  received 
a  limited  supply  or  none  at  all. 

Feeding  pigs  varying  amounts  of  grain  on  pasture  —  Utah  Station. 


Where  and  how  fed. 

No.  of 
trials. 

Average 
daily  gain 

Grain  for 
100  pounds 
of  gain. 

In  yard,  fed  grass,  full  grain  ration  
In  pasture,  full  grain  ration  

4 
4 

Lbs. 

1.1 
1.3 

Lbs. 

465 
417 

In  pasture,  three-fourths  grain  ration... 
In  pasture,  one-half  grain  ration  

2 
2 

1.2 

.87 

377 
352 

In  pasture,  one-fourth  grain  ration  
In  pasture,  no  grain. 

2 
3 

.64 
.36 

243 

In  pen,  fed  grass  only  

1 

*.26 

*  Loss. 


"We  learn  that  the  pigs  confined  in  the  yard  and  fed  grass  with 


Bui.  40. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs.  577 

a  full  grain  ration  made  an  average  daily  gain  of  1.1  pounds,  re- 
quiring 465  pounds  of  grain  for  100  pounds  of  gain,  while  those 
in  the  pasture,  likewise  receiving  a  full  feed  of  grain,  made  a 
daily  gain  of  1.3  pounds,  requiring  only  417  pounds  for  100  of 
gain.  There  was  a  saving  of  10  per  cent,  by  feeding  on  pasture 
instead  of  in  the  yard,  where  grass  was  supplied  in  addition  to 
the  grain. 

The  table  also  shows  that  when  feeding  three-fourths  of  a  full 
grain  allowance  the  pigs  made  a  daily  gain  of  1.2  pounds,  requir- 
ing only  377  pounds  of  grain  for  100  of  gain.  With  still  less 
grain  the  daily  gain  was  much  reduced,  but  so  also  was  the 
amount  of  feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain.  Finally,  three 
trials  on  pasture  without  grain  showed  an  average  daily  gain 
of  .36  of  a  pound  a  day,  or  2J  pounds  a  week  —  a  very  satis- 
factory result.  When  grass  was  cut  and  carried  to  pigs  confined 
in  pen,  they  could  not  be  maintained  on  this  feed  alone,  shrinking 
in  weight  at  the  rate  of  .26  pounds  daily.  (307)  These  results 
show  that  the  pig  cannot  be  successfully  nourished  by  soiling,  as 
can  cattle,  especially  the  dairy  cow. 

876.  Clover  hay  with  meal. —  Stewart1  fed  pigs  averaging  sev- 
enty-five pounds  each  with  corn  meal,  two  quarts  of  short-cut 
clover  hay  being  added  to  each  day's  allowance,  and  the  whole 
wet  with  hot  water  and  allowed  to  stand  from  ten  to  twelve 
hours  before  feeding.    Another  lot  received  meal  prepared  in  the 
same  way  but  without  the  clover  mixture.    The  lot  getting  clover 
hay  showed  the  best  appetite,  the  greatest  thrift  and  made  the 
steadiest  gains.     The  pigs  getting  meal  gained  110  pounds  each 
in  120  days,  while  those  having  the  cut  clover  hay  mixed  with 
their  meal  gained  143  pounds,  or  30  per  cent.  more.   (927)    The 
possible  value  of  moistened  clover  hay  as  a  by-feed  with  pigs  is 
well  illustrated  by  this  trial. 

877.  Corn  and  blue-grass  pasture. —  At  the  Illinois  Station, 2 
Morrow  conducted  four  trials  during  three  seasons  with  pigs  rang- 
ing on  blue -grass  pasture.     One  lot  was  given  a  full  feed  of  corn, 
the  second  a  half  feed  only.     As  a  check,  a  bunch  of  three  pigs 

1  Feeding  Animals,  p.  472. 

2  Bui.  16. 

37 


578 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


was  confined  in  a  lot  free  from  vegetation  and  fed  corn.  All 
were  supplied  with  coal -slack,  salt  and  water.  The  first  period 
in  each  trial  lasted  eight  weeks  and  the  second  four  weeks.  The 
averages  for  the  four  trials  are  given  below: 

Trials  with  pigs  fed  corn  on  blue-grass  pasture,  or  corn  only  —  Illi- 
nois Station. 


Total 
gain. 

Corn 
fed. 

Corn  per 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Lots  given  half  feed  of  corn,  on  grass  first 
period 

Lbs. 
505 

Lbs. 
2  190 

Lbs. 
433 

Fed  full  grain  allowance,  second  period  

463 

2,076 

448 

Average  

441 

Lots  given  full  feed  of  corn  on  grass,  first 
period  

905 

4,217 

465 

Second  period 

327 

1  796 

549 

Average  

507 

Lots  given  corn  with  no  grass,  first  period  ... 
Second  period  

791 
224 

4,207 
1,625 

532 
725 

Average 

629 

We  learn  from  the  above  that  the  best  returns  were  secured 
when  giving  a  half  feed  of  corn  on  blue-grass  pasture  during  the 
first  period  of  eight  weeks,  then  following  for  the  next  four  weeks 
with  a  full  feed  of  corn,  the  pigs  still  running  on  pasture.  Under 
these  conditions  441  pounds  of  corn  gave  100  pounds  gain.  Where 
the  pigs  were  given  a  full  feed  of  corn  at  all  times  while  on  past- 
ure, 507  pounds  of  corn  were  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain. 
The  check  lots  fed  in  yards  without  grass  required  629  pounds  of 
corn  for  100  pounds  of  gain.  There  was  a  saving  of  30  per  cent, 
when  a  half  feed  of  corn  was  given  on  pasture,  and  of  20  per  cent, 
when  a  full  feed  was  given,  as  compared  with  feeding  hogs  in  the 
lot  without  pasture. 

878.  Teeding  pigs  on  pasture  only. —  The  trials  reported  by  Mills 
(875)  show  that  pigs  may  make  fair  gains  on  pasture  alone  when 
alfalfa  is  the  main  forage  plant.  Morrow1  reports  that  all  at- 
tempts to  carry  pigs  On  blue-grass  pasture  without  feeding  grain 
resulted  so  unfavorably  that  he  was  forced  to  give  up  experiments 

i  Bui.  16,  111.  Expt.  Sta. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


579 


in  this  line.  Unpublished  data  secured  by  the  writer  coincide 
with  these  findings.  It  is  possible  that  pigs  may  make  satisfac- 
tory gains  on  pastures  alone,  but  no  Station  has  yet  shown  that 
they  can  do  so,  if  we  except  Utah,  where  alfalfa  was  grazed. 

879.  Rape  forage. —  At  the  Wisconsin  Station,1  Craig  con- 
ducted two  trials  with  rape  forage  as  a  feed  for  swine,  in  prep- 
aration for  the  final  fattening  period.  In  the  first  trial  there 
were  twenty  grade  Poland-China  pigs;  in  the  second,  thirty-eight 
grade  Chester  Whites.  In  each  case  the  pigs  were  divided  into 
two  even  lots,  the  first  having  a  run  in  a  rape  field,  with  grain 
additional,  and  the  second,  confined  in  a  pen,  receiving  grain 
only.  The  first  trial  lasted  76  days  and  the  second  42  days, 
during  which  time  the  feed  consumed  and  the  gains  were  as  shown 
in  the  following  table: 

Feeding  grain  with  and  without   rape  forage —  Wisconsin  Station. 


Corn. 

Mid- 
dlings. 

Rape. 

Gain. 

First  trial. 
Lot    I,  in  rape  field  

Lbs. 

1,386 

Lbs. 
690 

Acres. 
.32 

Lbs. 
853 

Lot  II  in  pen 

2  096 

1  042 

857 

Difference.           .                . 

710 

352 

Second  trial. 
Lot   I,  in  rape  field  

2,220 

1,109 

.6 

1,066 

Lot  II  in  pen 

3  106 

1,553 

1,076 

Difference.      .         

886 

444 

Summarizing  the  two  trials  and  calling  the  gains  equal,  we 
learn  that  .92  acres  of  rape  saved  2,392  pounds  of  grain.  This 
shows  one  acre  of  rape  equivalent  to  2, 600  pounds  of  grain  in  pig 
feeding.  Since  rape  can  be  used  as  a  catch  crop,  and  costs  but 
two  or  three  dollars  an  acre  for  seed  and  planting  and  nothing 
for  harvesting,  the  value  of  this  crop  in  swine  feeding  is  apparent. 
(334-5) 

880.  Droppings  of  corn-fed  steers  and  pasture. —  At  the  Illinois 
Station, 2  Morrow  grazed  three  yearling  steers  on  a  two-acre  blue- 
grass  pasture,  giving  a  full  feed  of  corn  additional.  Two  pigs  were, 

1  Kept.  1897.  2  Bui.  16. 


580  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

placed  in  the  same  lot  to  subsist  upon  the  droppings  of  the  steers 
and  the  pasture.  As  a  check  trial,  other  pigs  were  confined 
in  a  similar  pasture  and  fed  shelled  corn.  During  two  trials, 
lasting  twelve  weeks  each,  the  gains  made  by  the  pigs  were  as 
follows: 

First  trial.     Second  trial . 

Average  gain  of  pigs  following  steers  on  pasture.  59  pounds.  59  pounds. 
Average  gain  of  pigs  fed  corn  on  pasture 72  pounds.  99  pounds. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  pigs  following  the  steers  made  excellent 
gains  compared  with  those  ranging  on  pasture  and  receiving  in 
addition  a  full  feed  of  corn.  Since  the  nutriment  in  the  drop- 
pings would  otherwise  have  been  wasted,  the  great  importance 
of  following  up  grain-fed  steers  with  pigs  is  apparent.  Morrow 
states  that  when  the  pigs  following  the  steers  were  finally  fattened 
they  gained  in  weight  for  a  time  at  the  rate  of  3.2  pounds  each 
daily,  and  returned  as  much  as  16.8  pounds  of  increase  from  one 
bushel  of  corn.  This  trial  shows  the  value  of  the  droppings  of 
grain- fed  steers  in  preparing  shotes  for  final  fattening.  (538) 

881.  Droppings  of  corn-fed  steers  for  pigs. —  The  writer1  divided 
a  bunch  of  twelve  steers  into  two  lots  of  six  each,  giving  to  the 
first  shelled  corn  and  to  the  second  corn  meal.  Each  steer  re- 
ceived thirteen  pounds  of  corn  or  corn  meal  daily,  with  half  that 
weight  of  wheat  bran  in  addition.  With  each  lot  were  placed 
three  pigs,  averaging  175  pounds  each,  to  subsist  on  the  drop- 
pings, their  further  needs  being  supplied  by  corn  fed  in  a  trough. 
As  a  check,  three  pigs  were  placed  in  a  pen  and  fed  corn.  The 
results  are  shown  below: 

Gains  of  pigs  following  corn- fed  steers  — Wisconsin  Station. 


Feed  for  100 
pounds  gain 

Per  cent,  corn 
saved  by  pigs 
eating  drop- 
pings of  steers. 

Pigs  in  pen.  

564  Ibs. 

Pigs  following  steers  getting  corn  meal  
Pigs  following  steers  getting  whole  corn  

479  Ibs. 
272  Ibs. 

15 
52 

The  above  shows  a  saving  of  15  per  cent,  in  the  feed  required 


Wis.  Expt.  Sta.,  Kept.  1884. 


Value  of  Various  Feeding  Stuffs  for  Pigs. 


581 


by  pigs  following  steers  getting  corn  meal,  and  52  per  cent,  with 
those  following  steers  getting  whole  corn. 

These  results  are  in  conformity  with  the  experience  of  stockmen, 
who  have  learned  that  the  droppings  of  meal-fed  steers  are  not 
as  valuable  as  those  from  steers  getting  whole  corn.  (538) 

882.  Gain  from  a  bushel  of  corn. —  In  the  table  below  are  given 
the  results  of  a  large  number  of  feeding  trials  by  Morrow,  at  the 
Illinois  Station, J  in  which  whole  corn  only  was  fed  to  pigs: 

Results  of  feeding  whole  corn  only  to  pigs  —  Illinois  Station. 


No. 
of 
lot. 

Time  of  feeding. 

No.  of 
days. 

No.  of 
pigs. 

Av.  wt. 

of  pigs. 

Gain 
per  day. 

Corn  for 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Gain 
per  bu. 
of  corn 
fed. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1 

Nov.  24  to  Dec.  29.. 

35 

2 

290 

2.56 

418 

13.4 

*1 

Nov.  24  to  Dec.  22.. 

28 

2 

284 

2.70 

382 

14.7 

*1 

Dec.    15  to  Dec.  22.. 

7 

2 

311 

3.21 

333 

16.8 

2 

May     5  to  June  2.. 

28 

5 

153 

1.39 

437 

12.8 

2 

June    2  to  June  30.. 

28 

5 

192 

1.38 

484 

11.6 

2 

June  30  to  July  28.. 

28 

5 

224 

.85 

646- 

8.7 

3 

April  29  to  May  27.. 

28 

2 

209 

1.40 

380 

14.7 

4 

June  10  to  July  22.. 

42 

•  2 

212 

.90 

535 

10.5 

5 

July   30  to  Sept.  10.. 

42 

3 

66 

.77 

441. 

12.7 

6 

June  17  to  Sept.  9.. 

84 

3 

207 

.60 

676 

8.3 

7 

Dec.    30  to  Feb.    4.. 

56 

5 

109 

.51 

808 

6.9 

8 

Jan.    24  to  Feb.    4.. 

28 

6 

106 

1.05 

465 

12.0 

9 

Nov.  22  to  Jan.    4.. 

42 

2 

210 

1.30 

500 

11.2 

10 

Jan.    17  to  Feb.  21.. 

35 

4 

192 

1.29 

460 

12.2 

11 

Nov.     3  to  Dec.  15.. 

42 

3 

120 

.74 

605 

9.3 

11 

Dec.    15  to  Dec.  22.. 

7 

3 

138 

.55 

620 

8.9 

To 

tals  and  averages 

50 

173 

1.09 

534 

10.9 

*  Omitted  from  averages. 

The  above  shows  that  on  an  average  the  pigs  gained  about  1.1 
pounds  per  day,  and  that  a  bushel  of  corn  weighing  56  pounds 
produced  10. 9  pounds  of  gain,  live  weight.  The  table  shows  a 
wide  range  of  returns  —  as  low  as  6.9  pounds  of  gain  from  a  bushel 
of  corn  in  one  case,  while  at  the  other  extreme  we  have  16.8 
pounds.  This  last  return,  for  one  week  only,  was  with  pigs  which 
had  previously  followed  steers  fed  corn  on  blue-grass  pasture. 
While,  then,  the  gains  may  range  from  6  to  16  pounds,  we  may 
conclude  that  11  pounds  of  increase,  live  weight,  is  a  satisfactory 
return  from  a  bushel  of  whole  corn.  (568,  812) 

1  BuL  16. 


582  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

883.  Pork  production  at  the  South.—  At  the  Arkansas  Station,  * 
Bennett  fed  corn  meal  and  bran  to  a  sow  and  five  pigs  on  clover 
pasture.  At  weaning  time  the  sow  was  removed  and  the  experi- 
ment continued  with  the  five  pigs.  From  March  30  to  July  26 
the  pigs  were  kept  on  clover.  From  that  date  until  September  21 
they  were  maintained  on  sorghum  stalks  and  sorghum  seed. 
From  the  latter  date  until  November  15  they  were  confined  in  a 
field  planted  with  Spanish  peanuts.  The  total  feed  eaten  by  the 
sow  while  suckling  the  pigs,  and  by  the  five  pigs  during  growth 
and  fattening,  was  as  follows: 

Grain. 

Bran  fed 98   pounds. 

Corn  fed  during  growth  and  fattening 33  J  bushels. 

Crops  gathered  for  pigs. 

Clover 25  acres. 

Sorghum 25  acres. 

Spanish  peanuts 60  acres. 

Total 1.10  acres. 

The  combined  weight  of  the  five  pigs  when  ten  months  old  was 
as  follows: 

Weight  before  slaughtering 1 , 215  pounds. 

Weight  after  slaughtering 1,032  pounds. 

Average  weight  before  slaughtering 243  pounds. 

Average  dressed  weight. 206  pounds. 

Clover  was  found  very  satisfactory  for  pasture  while  it  remained 
fresh  and  grain  was  fed  in  addition.  Seed  and  stalks  of  sorghum 
also  proved  satisfactory.  While  feeding  on  Spanish  peanuts 
the  pigs  grew  rapidly.  Bennett  concludes  that  two  weeks'  final 
feeding  with  corn  will  suffice  to  harden  the  flesh  of  pigs  fed  on 
peanuts. 

1  Bui.  41. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

DANISH    PIG-FEEDING   EXPERIMENTS. 

I.   Trials  with  Various  Feeds. 

884.  The  work  of  Fjord  and  Friis. —  Since  the  year  1880  a  large 
number  of  pig- feeding  experiments  have  been  conducted  by  the 
Danish  Experiment  Station  at  Copenhagen,  under  the  direction 
of  the  late  Professor  J.  N.  Fjord  and  his  successor,  F.  Friis. 
These  experiments  are  exceedingly  valuable  because  of  the  vari- 
ety of  conditions  under  which  they  were  conducted,  the  large 
number  of  animals  included,  and  the  care  bestowed  on  the  details 
of  the  work. 

The  feeding  was  conducted  on  the  co-operative  plan  on  a  num- 
ber of  Danish  estates,  or  large  farms,  under  the  direct  supervis- 
ion of  the  officials  of  the  Station,  who  planned  the  experiments, 
made  the  weighings,  sampled  and  analyzed  the  feeds  and  con- 
ducted the  slaughtering  tests.  In  these  trials  the  pigs  were 
divided  into  selected  even  lots  composed  of  five  to  ten  animals 
each,  the  different  lots  being  so  fed  as  to  express  the  comparative 
value  of  the  feeds  under  examination.  In  a  majority  of  cases 
the  object  in  view  was  the  relative  feeding  value  of  different 
swine  foods  under  good  farm  conditions.  Incidentally  a  number 
of  other  problems  were  included,  such  as  the  value  of  shel- 
ter, the  influence  of  water  on  fattening,  breed  experiments,  ques- 
tion of  sex  in  fattening,  influence  of  season  on  fattening,  etc. 
The  results  of  these  experiments  have  been  published  in  the 
periodical  reports  (Beretninger)  of  the  Station,  of  which  thirty- 
nine  have  appeared  to  date. 

The  Danish  pound  equals  1.1  pounds  avoirdupois.  As  the 
results  stated  are  nearly  always  relative,  they  are  given  in  Danish 
pounds,  as  they  appear  in  the  original  reports.  Wherever  avoir- 
dupois pounds  are  given,  it  is  so  stated. 


584 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


885.  Slaughtering  tests. —  On  the  completion  of  the  feeding 
trials  the  animals  were  usually  shipped  to  a  Danish  pork-packing 
house,  where  they  were  slaughtered  in  the  presence  of  one  of  the 
Station  officers.  Weighings  were  made  and  notes  taken  by  ex- 
perts as  to  the  quality  of  the  carcass,  the  thickness  of  the  layer 
of  fat  over  the  shoulder  and  loin,  as  well  as  any  characteristic 
differences  in  the  lots  attributable  to  the  system  of  feeding  fol- 
lowed or  to  other  causes.  The  carcasses  were  grouped  in  four 
classes,  according  to  their  quality.  Class  I  contained  those  car- 
casses which  graded  best;  Class  IV  was  the  poorest,  with  Classes 
II  and  HI  intermediate.  The  grading  was  always  with  special 
reference  to  the  demands  of  the  English  market.  The  quality 
of  the  meat,  whether  hard  or  soft,  the  thickness  of  the  layer  of 
external  fat,  the  size  of  the  carcass,  and  other  points  determin- 
ing their  commercial  value,  were  the  deciding  factors.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  grading  we  present  the  figures  given  below, 
which  are  the  results  of  an  examination  and  grading  of  158  ani- 
mals used  in  one  trial:1 

Illustration  of  pork  grading  for  English  market  requirements — Copen- 
hagen Station. 


Grade  of  pork. 

No.  of 

ani- 
mals. 

Live 

weight. 

Shrink- 
age. 

Thickness 
of  fat  on 
shoulder. 

Thick- 
ness of 
fat  on 
loin. 

Highest.  Class  I     

98 

Lbs. 
158 

Per  cent. 
25.9 

Inches. 
1.7 

Inches. 
1.0 

Next  best,  Class  II  
Lowest,*  Class  III  

49 
10 

170 
181 

24.7 
23.2 

2.0 
2.2 

1.3 
1.5 

*One  animal  only  in  Class  IV. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  best  grade  included  the  lightest  animals, 
these  falling  under  175  pounds  avoirdupois.  The  shrinkage  with 
this  grade  was  heavy — nearly  26  per  cent.  The  fat  on  the  shoulder 
and  loin  was  much  thinner  than  with  those  in  the  poorest  grade. 
The  flesh  also  was  much  firmer. 

886.  Centrifugal  versus  gravity  skim  milk. —  Seven  experiments8 
were  conducted  with  72  animals  in  all,  the  trials  lasting  4  to  6 

»  Kept.  10,  1887.  »  Kept.  2,  1884. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments.  585 

weeks.  Barley,  oats,  corn  and  peanut  meal  were  fed  separately 
or  combined;  in  all  cases  more  or  less  skim  milk  was  given  in 
addition  to  the  grain.  The  pigs  were  all  less  than  12  weeks  old, 
averaging  6  weeks,  and  weighing  less  than  40  pounds  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  trials.  The  feed  consumed  and  the  average  gain 
are  shown  below: 

Gain  of  pigs  fed  gravity  and  separator  skim  milk  with  grain  —  Copen- 
hagen Station. 


Gravity  skim 
milk. 

Centrifugal 
skim  milk. 

Average  daily  gain  per  head               .  . 

776  Ibs. 

741  Ibs. 

Difference  in  favor  of  gravity  skimming 

035  Ibs. 

Percent,  of  fat  in  skim  milk  

63  per  cent. 

.  15  per  cent. 

The  pigs  in  these  trials  were  fed  about  8  pounds  of  milk  a  day 
on  the  average.  Of  gravity  skim  milk  100  pounds  produced  a  lit- 
tle over  .4  pounds  more  gain  in  live  weight  than  the  same  quantity 
of  centrifugal  skim  milk.  The  pigs  fed  gravity  skim  milk  gained 
as  much  in  23  days  as  the  others  in  24  days.  Allowing  a  fair 
value  for  the  butter  fat,  centrifuging  the  milk  is  shown  to  be  the 
more  profitable  method.  (357,  659,  869-71) 

887.  Skim  milk  compared  with  whey. —  The  relative  value  of 
separator  skim  milk  and  whey  left  in  the  manufacture  of  skim 
cheese  from  separator  skim  milk  was  studied1  in  experiments 
conducted  during  1885-87.  In  one  series,  where  three  pounds  of 
whey  were  fed  against  one  pound  of  skim  milk,  the  weight  of 
the  pigs  fed  varied  from  79  to  105  pounds.  These  trials  included 
34  animals,  the  feeding  lasting  from  53  to  60  days.  There  was  a 
daily  gain  of  .91  pounds  for  the  lots  fed  skim  milk  and  1.22  pounds 
for  those  fed  whey. 

Another  series  of  experiments2  was  conducted  on  six  different 
farms  with  258  animals  in  all,  varying  from  28  to  174  pounds  each 
at  the  beginning  of  the  trials,  the  feeding  periods  running  from 
50  to  160  days.  In  this  series,  which  included  nineteen  trials, 
two  pounds  of  whey  were  fed  against  one  pound  of  separator 

1  Kept.  1887. 

*  Kept,  10,  p.  26. 


58<6  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

skim  milk.     The  average  gain  for  the  animals  in  both  lots  was 
exactly  the  same,  viz.,  1.13  pounds  daily. 

The  conclusion  drawn  is  that  one  pound  of  separator  skim  milk 
equals  two  pounds  of  whey  obtained  in  the  manufacture  of  cheese 
from  separator  skim  milk.  Such  whey  is  necessarily  very  free 
from  fat,  and  consequently  has  as  low  a  feeding  value  as  whey  can 


These  results  were  corroborated  by  similar  experiments  con- 
ducted during  1887-88,  as  well  as  by  still  later  trials. l 

The  results  of  investigations  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  and  the 
Ontario  Agricultural  College  (873)  show  that  whey  has  a  higher 
feeding  value  for  pigs  than  is  here  reported.  The  reason  for  this 
lies  in  the  fact  that  in  the  American  trials  the  whey  contained 
more  fat  and  probably  more  casein  than  that  fed  at  the  Danish 
Station.  (359,660) 

888.  Skim  milk  compared  with  grain. —  Centrifugal  skim  milk 
was  compared2  with  rye  and  barley,  being  first  fed  in  the  ratio  of 
5  pounds  of  milk  to  1  of  grain;  in  later  experiments,  6  pounds 
of  milk  to  1  of  grain.  Groups  containing  175  pigs  in  all  were 
divided  into  35  lots.  The  milk  fed  varied  in  amount  as  shown  in 
the  table,  which  gives  also  the  average  grain  consumed  daily  and 
the  gain  made  per  animal. 

81dm,  milk  compared  with  barley  and  rye  —  Copenhagen  Station. 


Feed  given  daily. 

Average  daily  increase. 

When  fed 
barley. 

When  fed 
rye. 

1.27  Ibs.  grain,  16.3  Ibs.  skim  -milk 

.79  Ibs. 
.91  Ibs. 
.99  Ibs. 

.81  Ibs. 
.91  Ibs. 
1.00  Ibs. 

2.17  Ibs.  grain,  12.1  Ibs.  skim  milk  

2.97  Ibs.  grain,    7.8  Ibs.  skim  milk..  

It  will  be  seen  that  greater  gains  were  made  where  the  quantity 
of  skim  milk  fed  was  decreased.  The  results  show  that  5  pounds 
of  milk  could  not  replace  1  pound  of  grain,  where  rye  or  barley 
was  fed  with  the  skim  milk.  In  the  second  and  third  series  of 
trials  60  pigs  were  used  in  each  series.  When  the  allowance  of 

1  Kept.  15,  p.  88. 
*  Kept.  10, 1887. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments. 


58? 


skim  milk  was  decreased  in  the  ratio  of  1  pound  of  grain  to  6  pounds 
of  skim  milk  on  the  average,  the  following  results  were  obtained: 

Comparison  of  centrifugal  skim  milk  with  rye  and  barley  —  Copen- 
hagen Station. 


Grain  and  milk  fed. 

Average  daily  increase. 

When  fed 
barley. 

When  fed 
rye. 

Average. 

First  series. 
1.2  Ibs.  grain,  14.6  Ibs.  skim  milk... 
1.7  Ibs.  ^rain,  11.2  Ibs.  skim  milk... 
2.3  Ibs.  grain,    7.2  Ibs.  skim  milk... 
Second  series. 
1.3  Ibs.  grain,  14.6  Ibs.  skim  milk... 
2.0  Ibs.  grain,  10.7  Ibs.  skirn  milk... 
2.6  Ibs.  grain,    6.8  Ibs.  skim  milk... 

.85  Ibs. 
.86  Ibs. 
.90  Ibs. 

.92  Ibs. 
.95  Ibs. 
.94  Ibs. 

.88  Ibs. 
.88  Ibs. 
.83  Ibs. 

.95  Ibs. 
.95  Ibs. 
.96  Ibs. 

.87  Ibs. 
.87  Ibs. 
.87  Ibs. 

.94  Ibs. 
.95  Ibs. 
.95  Ibs. 

In  later  work  at  that  Station  these  feeds  have  always  been 
substituted  for  one  another  in  the  proportion  of  6  pounds  of  sep- 
arator skim  milk  for  1  pound  of  grain.  If  all  experiments  in 
this  line  are  averaged,  we  find  that  the  daily  gain  per  head  was 
practically  identical,  whether  much  or  little  grain  was  replaced  by 
skim  milk,  in  the  ratio  of  1  to  6,  showing  that  the  comparative 
feeding  value  of  these  feeds  is  expressed  by  this  ratio. 

889.  Grain  compared  with  whey. —  Two  series  of  experiments1 
with  sixty  animals  in  all  were  conducted,  in  which  one  pound  of 
grain  was  fed  as  an  equivalent  to  twelve  pounds  of  whey  from 
separator  skim-milk  cheese.  In  these  trials  the  average  weight 
of  the  pigs  fed  was  about  50  pounds,  the  experiments  lasting  115 
days  each,  with  results  shown  below: 

Feeding  whey  and  grain  to  pigs  —  Copenhagen  Station. 

Daily  increase 
Feed  per  pig  daily.  per  head. 

1.3   Ibs.  grain,  27.1  Ibs.  whey,  1  Ib.  buttermilk 945  Ibs. 

1.95  Ibs.  grain,  19.3  Ibs.  whey,  1  Ib.  buttermilk 950  Ibs. 

2.6   Ibs.  grain,  11.5  Ibs.  whey,  1  Ib.  buttermilk 955  Ibs. 

The  results  show  that  one  pound  of  rye  or  barley  is  equal  to 
twelve  pounds  of  whey  from  centrifugal  skim-milk  cheese.  We 
have  already  shown  that  one  pound  of  rye  or  barley  is  equivalent 

1  Kept.  1887,  p.  38, 


588 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


to  six  pounds  of  skim  milk.     One  pound  of  skim  milk  is  there- 
fore equal  to  two  pounds  of  whey.   (660,  873) 

890.  Quality  of  skim-milk  and  whey-fed  pork. —  Slaughter  tests1 
show  the  quality  of  skim-milk  pork  somewhat  superior  to  that 
produced  from  whey,  as  indicated  in  the  following  table: 

Results  of  slaughter  tests  with  pigs  fed  whey  and  skim  milk —  Copen- 
hagen Station. 


Skim 
milk. 

Whey. 

Shrinkage  in  slaughtering,  per  cent  

24  6 

24  9 

Percentage  classification  of  carcasses. 
Class     I            

73  0 

48  0 

Class   II       

27  0 

44  0 

Class  III  

8  0 

891.  Rye  compared  with  barley. —  The  average  of  11  experi- 
ments,2 with  110  animals,  shows  a  daily  gain  of  .865  pounds  for 
barley- fed  pigs  and  .873  pounds  for  those  fed  rye.  These  gains 
being  practically  equal  show  similar  values  for  rye  and  barley 
as  pig  feeds.  An  examination  of  the  carcasses  at  slaughtering 
time  gave  the  following  classification: 

Results  with  barley  and  rye-fed  pigs  —  Copenhagen  Station. 


Barley  fed. 

Rye-fed. 

Per  cent  dressed  weight 

74  3  per  cent 

75  per  cent. 

Class     I                           

68  0  per  cent. 

63  per  cent. 

Class    II  

21  0  per  cent. 

34  per  cent. 

Class  III  

11.0  per  cent. 

3  per  cent. 

The  results  indicate  a  practical  equality  between  the  two  feeds 
for  pork  production.  (177-8) 

While  rye  is  shown  to  be  of  equal  value  with  barley  for  pig 
feeding  we  will  learn  later  (895)  that  its  by-product,  rye  shorts, 
is  very  unsatisfactory  for  this  purpose. 

892.  Grain  compared  with  oil  cake. —  Experiments8  were  con- 
ducted in  1887-88  on  12  estates  with  406  animals  in  all,  divided 

1  Kept.  1887,  p.  52. 
« Ibid.,  p.  37. 
»  Kept.  15,  1889. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments. 


589 


into  77  lots,  each  containing  at  least  5  pigs.  The  experiments 
lasted  from  65  to  140  days,  averaging  110  days.  Sunflower-seed 
cake,  hemp -seed  cake,  palm- nut  meal,  peanut  meal  and  blood 
bread  were  each  fed  against  rye  or  barley.  The  oil  cake  was  fed 
in  connection  with  skim  milk  in  some  of  the  experiments,  and  with 
whey  in  others.  The  lots  fed  grain  and  oil  cake  received  half 
their  concentrates  in  the  form  of  oil  cake;  those  fed  grain  only, 
received  skim  milk  or  whey  in  addition.  The  averages  of  these 
extensive  trials  in  which  whey  or  barley  meal  was  fed  in  oppo- 
sition to  oil  cakes  are  shown  in  the  following  table,  which  con- 
denses the  results  so  that  they  may  be  easily  compared  by  the 
student: 

Feeding  various  forms  of  oil  cake  in  comparison  with  grain —  Copen- 
hagen Station. 


Average  daily 
gain  per  head. 


Grain. 


Grain  and 
oil  cakes. 


Average  14  trials  with  oil  cakes  fed  with  milk.. 
Average  16  trials  with  oil  cakes  fed  with  whey. 


Lbs. 

.87 
.85 


Lbs. 

.87 
.85 


Average  of  above  trials , 

Average  10  trials  with  sunflower-seed  cake. 

Average   6  trials  with  hemp-seed  cake 

Average  10  trials  with  palm-nut  cake 

Average  10  trials  with  peanut  cake 


.88 
.89 
.84 
.81 


.86 


.88 
.82 
.84 


Average  of  above  trials. 


.85 


These  results  prove  conclusively,  it  would  seem,  that  a  pound 
of  oil  cake  has  no  more  value  for  pigs  than  a  pound  of  rye  or 
barley,  no  matter  with  what  other  substance  or  under  what  con- 
ditions it  may  be  fed.  (206) 

893.  Slaughter  tests  of  pigs  fed  in  the  preceding  experiments. 1 
Sunflower-seed  cake  and  hemp-seed  cake  fed  in  connection  with 
skiin  milk  produced  a  soft  quality  of  pork,  which  would  com- 
mand a  lower  price  in  the  general  market  than  that  produced  by 


1  Loc.  cit. 


590 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


the  corresponding  grain -fed  lots.  When  fed  in  connection  with 
whey,  the  quality  of  the  pork  compared  favorably  with  that  pro- 
duced from  barley  or  rye.  There  is  no  evidence  that  peanut  or 
palm- nut  cake  injured  the  quality  of  the  pork  when  fed  with 
either  skim  milk  or  whey.  These  points  are  shown  in  the  fol- 
lowing table,  which  summarizes  the  results  obtained  at  slaugh- 
tering time  with  some  of  the  pigs  fed  in  the  trials  reported  in  the 
preceding  article: 

Average  data  at  slaughtering  time  with  pigs  fed  various  forms  of 
oil  cake — Copenhagen  Station. 


Feed. 

Av. 
live 
wt. 

Shrink- 
age. 

Av. 

thick- 
ness of 
pork. 

No.  of  pigs 
in  class. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Sun/lower-seed  cake. 
Skim    /Grain. 

Lbs. 

161 
161 
163 
162 

160 
162 
156 
156 

184 
178 
159 
162 

185 

178 
167 
174 

Per  ct. 

24.4 
25.3 
26.4 
26.5 

24.7 
23.5 

24.8 
24.9 

28.3 
28.9 
27.5 
29.2 

28.1 
29.6 
29.4 
29.4 

Inches. 

1.3 
1.3 
1.5 
1.4 

1.4 
1.3 
1.5 
1.4 

1.5 
1.4 
1.5 
1.4 

1.5 
1.5 
1.5 

1.6 

14 
1 

4 

8 

5 
11 
9 
15 

10 
8 
10 
11 

6 
12 
20 
15 

1 
3 
5 

5 
1 
5 
13 

1 

"l2" 

milk.     \  Grain  and  oil  cake.. 
„,,         /Grain.;.  

3 

2 

ney'  \  Grain  and  oil  cake.. 
Peanut  cake. 
Skim    /Grain. 

milk.    \  Grain  and  oil  cake.. 
~wvi       /Grain. 

2 

2 
2 



ney*  \  Grain  and  oil  cake.. 
Hemp-seed  cake. 
Skim    /Grain. 

milk,     t  Grain  and  oil  cake., 
wvi       /  Grain. 

2 
1 

1 

4 
1 
1 
4 

1 



ney'  1  Grain  and  oil  cake.. 
Palm-nut  cake. 
Skim     f  Grain 

milk.     \  Grain  and  oil  cake.. 
wvi       /  Grain. 

ey'  \  Grain  and  oil  cake.. 

In  experiments1  conducted  in  the  years  1891-94,  the  same 
kinds  of  oil  cake  used  in  the  preceding  trials  were  compared  with 
barley,  but  the  ratio  of  barley  to  oil  cake  in  these  trials,  instead 
of  being  1  to  1,  as  in  the  first  trials,  was  1  to  2  or  2  to  1.  In  all 
the  series  one  lot  of  pigs  was  fed  barley  alone,  for  the  sake  of  com- 
parison. A  small  quantity  of  buttermilk  and  skim  milk  was  also 

1  Kept.  30,  1895. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments. 


591 


fed  with  the  different  rations.     The  gains  made  by  the  different 
lots  were  as  follows: 

Later  trials  with  feeding  grain  in  comparison  with  oil  cakes  —  Copen- 
hagen Station. 


. 

Feed. 

Average  weight  at 
beginning. 

Daily  gain. 

Bar- 
ley. 

f  bar- 
ley, 
ioil 
cake. 

Jbar- 
Jey, 
foil 
cake. 

Bar- 
ley 

$  bar- 
ley, 

ioil 
cake. 

£  bar- 
ley, 
foil 
cake. 

Sunflower-seed  cake. 
With  skim  milk,  4  trials  

Lbs. 

70.6 
60.5 

71.2 
64.1 

67.8 

Lbs. 

71.6 

60.6 

73.2 

64.8 
68.7 

Lbs. 

70.1 
60.4 

72.2 
64.3 
67.6 

Lbs. 
1J5 

I.IT 

1.23 
1.19 
1.17 

Lbs. 

1.12 
-1-.21 

1.19 
1.20 
1.16 

Lbs. 

1.01 
1.13 

1.16 
1.14 
1.06 

With  whey  2  trials 

Palm-nut  meed. 
With  whey,  1  trial             

Average  of  3  trials  with  whey.. 
Average  of  7  trials  

These  experiments  in  connection  with  those  previously  made 
show  that  the  rations  containing  less  than  half  the  concentrates 
in  the  form  of  oil  cake  were  nearly  as  effective  as  a  pure  grain 
ration,  and  that  increasing  the  quantity  of  oil  cake  feel  produced 
poorer  results,  the  difference  being  greater  when  skim  milk  was 
fed  than  when  feeding  whey.  When  roots  were  fed  in  both 
rations  the  effect  of  the  oil  cake  was  still  not  so  good,  so  far  as 
gain  in  live  weight  goes,  as  in  case  of  pure  grain  feeding.  These 
results  are  of  peculiar  interest,  since  the  higher  protein  content  of 
the  oil  cakes  would  a  priori  indicate  a  higher  feeding  value  for 
them  than  the  cereals  possess.  In  feeding  trials  with  cows  at  the 
same  Station  (647)  and  elsewhere,  oil  cake  has  always  been 
found  superior  to  grain  in  nutritive  value.  They  show  that  oil 
in  feeds  has  not  the  high  nutritive  value  with  pigs  assigned  it  by 
trials  with  the  ruminants.  While  we  accept  these  results  and 
should  act  upon  them  in  the  practical  feeding  of  the  pig,  we 
await  the  studies  of  the  investigators  to  show  why  oil  in  feeds  is 
less  valuable  with  this  animal  than  with  the  cow. 

894.  Rye  or  barley  versus  Indian  corn. —  In  1888-89,  seven 
series  of  experiments1  were  made  with  144  pigs,  on  13  different 

1  Kept,  1890. 


592 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


estates,  in  which  Indian  corn  was  compared  with  barley  or  rye. 
The  grains  were  fed  against  one  another  in  equal  quantities  by 
weight,  with  results  given  below: 

Trials  with  barley  or  rye  fed  in  opposition  to  Indian  corn  —  Copen- 
hagen Station. 


Average  weight. 

Average  gain  per 
day. 

Lot  I. 
Bar- 
ley or 
rye. 

Lot 
II. 
J  bar- 
ley or 
i^e,  £ 
corn. 

Lot 
III. 

Corn. 

Lot  I. 
Bar- 
ley or 
rye. 

Lot 
II. 

}  bar- 
ley or 
rye,  } 
corn. 

Lot 
III. 

Corn. 

Feed  per  day  per  head. 

3.61  Ibs.  grain,  9.7  Ibs.  skim  milk, 
19.4  Ibs.  whey,  1  Ib.  buttermilk. 

Softness  of  pork,  points. 

No.  of  carcasses  in  highest  grade. 
No.  of  carcasses  in  lowest  grade... 

Lbs. 
79.9 

Lbs. 
79.9 

Lbs. 
79.9 

Lbs. 
1.32 

Lbs. 
1.36 

Lbs. 
1.35 

8 
1 

5 

7 

3 
10 

The  gain  made  on  corn  was  slightly  higher  than  that  made  on 
either  barley  (857)  or  rye,  and  about  equal  to  that  made  on  a 
mixture  of  the  two.  The  slaughter  tests  show  that  the  shrinkage 
was  practically  the  same  for  the  three  lots.  Corn  made  the  softest 
pork,  and  also  gave  the  largest  number  of  carcasses  in  the  fourth, 
or  lowest,  grade. 

The  experiments  were  continued  during  1892-93. l  Since  the 
quality  of  the  pork  seemed  inferior  when  corn  was  fed  through- 
out the  fattening  period,  experiments  were  made  in  which  corn 
was  fed  until  the  pigs  of  the  different  lots  weighed  120,  140,  or 
160  pounds,  after  which  barley  was  fed  for  grain  until  the  close 
of  the  fattening  period.  (919)  For  comparison,  one  lot  was  fed 
barley  and  another  corn  exclusively,  in  each  trial.  Dairy  refuse 
was  given  in  addition  in  all  cases.  The  grains  were  substituted, 
pound  for  pound,  for  one  another  in  the  rations  fed  the  different 
lots.  Results  are  available  from  five  series  of  experiments  with 
115  pigs  in  all,  the  trials  lasting  from  100  to  140  days.  It  was 
found  that  the  lots  fed  corn  all  the  time  made  somewhat  heavier 


Kept.  1895. 


Danish  Pig -feeding  Experiments. 


593 


gains,  the  average  daily  increase  being  .04  pounds  per  head 
higher,  as  shown  below: 

Feeding  pigs  on  corn,  and  finishing  them  with  barley  —  Copenhagen 

Station. 


Barley 
only. 

Corn  to 
120  Ibs. 

Corn  to 
140  IDS. 

Corn  to 
160  Ibs. 

Corn 
only. 

Av.  wt.  at  beginning  

Lbs, 
46 

Lbs. 
49 

Lbs. 
46 

Lbs. 
45 

Lbs. 
46 

Av.  daily  gain,  live  weight  ... 

1.10 

1.09 

1.14 

1.10* 

1.14 

*  Average  for  four  trials. 

The  tests  and  data  obtained  at  slaughtering  time  furnished  val- 
uable information  concerning  the  quality  of  the  pork  produced, 
as  summarized  in  the  table  below: 

Average  results  at  slaughtering  time  of  pigs  fed  barley  or  corn  — 
Copenhagen  Station. 


Feed. 

Av.  wt. 
at 
slaugh- 
tering. 

Shrink- 
age. 

Thick- 
ness of 
pork. 

Soft- 
ness of 
pork. 

Per  cent, 
in  class. 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

Lbs. 

Per  cent. 

Inches. 

Points. 

Barley  all  time  

183 

22.9 

1.3 

1.4 

57 

35 

4 

4 

Corn  till  120  Ibs... 

181 

22.0 

1.5 

1.6 

28 

50 

22 

Corn  till  140  Ibs... 

186 

21.7 

1.5 

2.0 

25 

58 

17 

Corn  till  160  Ibs... 

183 

22.2 

1.5 

2.3 

45 

30 

25 

Corn  all  time  

185 

21.1 

1.5 

2.7 

29 

33 

24 

14 

Exclusive  barley  feeding  gave  pork  of  the  highest  quality,  (178) 
while  exclusive  corn  feeding  produced  a  poor  quality.  The  pork 
increased  in  softness  the  longer  the  pigs  were  fed  corn,  the  lowest 
quality  resulting  where  corn  was  fed  all  the  time.  (153) 

895.  Grain  compared  with  rye  shorts.1 — In  comparing  rye  and 
barley,  or  rye  alone,  with  rye  shorts  in  three  series  of  experi- 
ments, the  grain  alone  always  produced  better  results  than  equal 
mixtures  of  grain  and  rye  shorts,  and  these  mixtures  were  again 
better  than  rye  shorts  alone.  The  daily  gains  made  were  .77 
pounds  for  barley  or  rye  alone,  .70  pounds  for  grain  and  rye  shorts 
mixed  half  and  half,  .61  pounds  for  rye  shorts  only,  in  one  series 

*  Bept.  19,  1890. 
38 


594 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


of  trials;  in  another,  1.22  pounds,  1.20  pounds,  and  1.08  pounds, 
respectively.  The  third  series  cannot  be  used,  because  the  pigs 
fed  rye  shorts  became  sick.  The  quality  of  the  pork  produced 
where  rye  shorts  were  fed  was  poor,  especially  where  all  rye  shorts 
were  given,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  table  below: 

Quality  of  pork  made  when  feeding  grain  and  rye  shorts  —  Copen- 
hagen Station. 


Feed. 

Wt.  at 

slaugh- 
tering. 

Shrink- 
age. 

Thick- 
ness of 
pork. 

Soft- 
ness of 
pork. 

Class. 

I. 

II. 

6 

4 

1 

III. 

7 
2 

IV. 

Grain    (rye    and 
barley  )  

Lbs. 
162 

159 
145 

Lbs. 
24.2 

24.9 
26.6 

Inches. 
1.5 

1.4 
1.3 

Points. 
1.7 

2.5 
3.7 

8 

1 
1 

1 

7 
16 

Half  grain,   half 
rye  shorts  

Rye  shorts 

The  number  of  points  for  softness  of  pork  increased  rapidly 
with  the  feeding  of  rye  shorts,  and  the  classification  of  the  car- 
casses showed  that  a  poor  quality  of  pork  was  produced  when 
this  feed  was  given. 

896.  Wheat  bran  compared  with  rye  and  barley. —  Trials  with 
wheat  bran  compared  with  barley  or  rye  for  pigs1  were  conducted 
during  1890-92  on  five  different  farms  and  included  115  pigs,  the 
trials  lasting  112  days.  Wheat  bran  was  fed  against  rye  on 
some  farms  and  against  barley  on  others,  skim  milk  or  whey 
being  fed  in  addition.  In  four  out  of  five  trials  the  largest  average 
gain  was  made  by  the  lots  fed  grain,  closely  followed  by  those  re- 
ceiving a  mixture  of  five  parts  barley  or  rye  and  seven  parts  wheat 
bran  for  every  ten  parts  of  grain  fed  the  other  lots.  Bran  alone 
did  not  produce  as  good  results  as  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of 
grain  and  bran.  The  one-sided  bran  feeding  in  several  instances 
caused  sickness  among  the  pigs,  while  none  occurred  in  the  other 
lots.  Wheat  bran  has  an  appreciably  lower  nutritive  value  than 
barley  or  rye  for  pig  feeding.  In  scoring  the  carcasses,  the  pork 
produced  on  wheat  bran  was  found  to  be  of  poorer  quality  than 
that  produced  on  grain,  and  shrank  more  in  dressing,  although 
the  results  were  not  so  unfavorable  with  wheat  bran  as  were  the 
previous  experiments  with  rye  shorts.  (175,  177-8,  855) 

1  Kept.  26, 1892. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments. 


595 


897.  Grain  compared  with  boiled  potatoes. —  Three  series  of  ex- 
periments1 were  made  to  test  the  comparative  value  of  cooked 
potatoes  with  grain,  when  both  were  fed  in  connection  with  skim 
milk  or  whey.     Four  pounds  of  potatoes  were  fed  against  one 
pound  of  grain,  and  the  gains  made  were  practically  the  same. 
Four  pounds  of  boiled  potatoes  should  thus  be  considered  equal 
to  one  pound  of  grain  in  pig  feeding.     The  quality  of  the  pork 
produced  from  potato  feeding  was  good  and  did  not  differ  appre- 
ciably from  that  of  lots  differently  fed. 

898.  Comparative  feeding  value  of  mangels2  and  grain.3 — For 
the  purpose  of  determining  the  comparative  value  of  mangels  and 
grain  as  feeds  for  pigs  the  trials  reported  below  were  conducted. 
All  lots  received  skim  milk  or  whey  in  addition  to  the  grain  and 
roots,  except  Lots  E  and  F,  to  which  an  equivalent  of  additional 
roots  was  given.     The  average  daily  gains  are  shown  below: 

Average  daily  gain  of  pigs  fed  grain  and  mangels  —  Copenhagen 

Station. 


10  Ibs.  roots  = 
1  Ib.  of  grain. 

8  Ibs.  roots  = 
1  Ib.  of  grain. 

Grain. 

Roots. 

Grain. 

Roots. 

Lots  A,  B,  C  and  D 

.76  Ibs. 

.83  Ibs. 
.86  Ibs. 

.85  Ibs. 

.86  Ibs. 
.89  Ibs. 

Lots  E  and  F  

The  above  shows  that  ten  pounds  of  mangels  were  more  than 
equal,  and  eight  pounds  about  equal,  to  one  pound  of  grain  in 
these  trials. 

The  quality  of  the  pork  produced  by  the  different  lots  was  very 
satisfactory  5  even  where  one-fourth  of  the  daily  feed  was  given 
in  the  form  of  roots,  no  deleterious  effect  was  noticed.  (3J8) 

899.  Grain  compared  with  beets  of  different  sugar  content. — A 
preliminary  feeding  experiment4  with  beets  of  different  sugar  con- 
tent was  made  in  1890  to  ascertain  their  comparative  feeding  val- 
ues. Mangels  containing  12.71  per  cent,  dry  matter  and  8.93  per 

1  Rept.  19,  1890. 

2  In  the  Danish  experiments  all  roots  were  fed  uncooked,  unless  other- 
wise noted,  and  either  whole  or  sliced,  generally  the  latter.  (316,  658, 
866) 

3  Rept.  1890.  *  Rept.  26,  1892. 


596  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

cent  sugar  were  fed  against  fodder  beets  containing  19.86  per  cent, 
dry  matter  and  13.8  per  cent  sugar,  or  against  barley.  The 
experiment  included  25  pigs  averaging  79  pounds  each,  and 
lasted  70  days. 

The  indications  were  that  for  pigs  one  pound  of  barley  had  a 
feeding  value  equal  to  six  to  eight  pounds  of  mangels,  or  four  to 
eight  pounds  of  fodder  beets. 

In  experiments1  during  1891-92,  lots  including  204  pigs  were 
fed  four  kinds  of  roots  in  addition  to  dairy  refuse  and  grain.  The 
roots  used  were:  (1)  Eckendorf  mangels,  containing  11  per  cent 
dry  matter  and  6.7  per  cent  sugar;  (2)  Elvetham  mangels,  con- 
taining 13.6  per  cent  dry  matter  and  8.9  per  cent  sugar ;  (3)  fod- 
der sugar  beets,  containing  16.5  per  cent  dry  matter  and  10.9 
per  cent  sugar;  (4)  sugar  beets,  containing  21.2  per  cent,  dry 
matter  and  14  per  cent  sugar.  The  lots  fed  barley  only,  made 
the  largest  gain,  closely  followed  by  those  half  of  whose  grain 
was  replaced  by  roots  in  the  following  ratio:  For  1  pound  of 
barley  was  substituted  7.5  pounds  of  Eckendorf  mangels,  6.5 
pounds  of  Elvetham  mangels,  5  pounds  of  fodder  beets  and  4 
pounds  of  sugar  beets.  These  quantities  of  the  different  kinds  of 
roots  proved  nearly  equivalent  in  feeding  value.  The  authorities 
conclude  that  about  40  per  cent  of  the  daily  ration  of  the  pig 
may  be  advantageously  made  up  of  roots.  The  data  secured  at 
slaughtering  time  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  feeding  of  roots 
to  the  extent  practiced  in  these  experiments  produced  pork  of 
a  quality  fully  equal  to  that  resulting  from  grain  feeding.  (320) 

900.  Carrots  compared  with  mangels. —  In  1892-94, 2  experi- 
ments were  conducted  on  nine  different  estates  with  893  pigs, 
divided  into  175  lots.     It  was  found  in  the  comparative  trials 
that  carrots  and  mangels  containing  equal  quantities  of  dry  mat- 
ter had  similar  values  in  pig  feeding;  in  other  words,  the  amount 
of  dry  matter  in  roots  is  of  importance  rather  than  the  total 
weight  or  the  quantity  of  sugar  contained.   (317) 

901.  Turnips  compared  with  whey. —  When  feeding  barley  and 
whey  to  pigs,  turnips  were  substituted  for  part  of  the  whey.     In 
two  experiments3  with  30  animals,  barley  and  whey  gave  an  in- 

*  Kept.  26,  1892.  *  Kept  30, 1895.  » Ibid. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments. 


597 


crease  of  1.08  pounds  daily  per  head,  while  turnips  gave  only  .96 
pounds,  showing  that  whey  had  a  higher  feeding  value,  pound 
for  pound,  than  turnips.  (319) 

902.  Grain  compared  with  blood  bread. —  Blood  bread  prepared 
from  blood  and  barley  meal,  baked  in  an  oven  the  same  as  ordi- 
nary bread,  was  compared1  with  grain  in  two  trials  with  40 
animals,  lasting  138  and  120  days,  respectively.  Four  lots  of 
pigs  were  fed  grain  and  four  lots  blood  bread.  Two  lots  in  each 
trial  received  skim  milk  and  two  whey  in  addition  to  the  con- 
centrated feed.  The  results  are  as  follows: 

Results  of  feeding  blood  bread  in  comparison  with  grain  —  Copenhagen 

Station. 


Average  weight. 

Av.  daily  gain 
per  head. 

Feed  per  head  per  day. 

Grain 

(rye,  or 
rye  and 

Blood 
bread. 

Grain 
fed. 

Blood 
bread 
fad 

barley). 

Lbs, 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1.64  Ibs.  cone,  feed,  15.5  Ibs.  milk  

58.6 

58.4 

.98 

.74 

2.46  Ibs.  cone,  feed,  10.6  Ibs.  milk  

58.4 

58.4 

.97 

.65 

Average  

98 

.70 

1.77  Ibs.  cone,  feed,  20.6  Ibs.  whey, 

1.4  Ibs.  skim  milk  

61.6 

61.4 

1.00 

.79 

2,65  Ibs.  cone,  feed,  10.8  Ibs.  whey, 

1  Ib.  skim  milk  

61.6 

61  4 

1  13 

.87 

Average. 

1  07 

83 

Average  of  both  trials 

1.02 

.76 

The  blood  bread  contained  more  water  than  was  supposed  when 
the  experiments  were  started.  Its  average  percentage  chemical 
composition  was  as  follows: 

Water,  59.6;  protein,  20;  starch,  16.1;  fat,  4;  cellulose,  2.4;  ash,  1.5. 

The  trials  showed  the  blood  bread  decidedly  inferior  to  rye 
or  barley  when  fed  in  connection  with  skim  milk  or  whey.  It 
was  concluded  that  had  it  contained  less  water  different  results 
might  have  been  secured.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  baking 
the  bread  may  have  lowered  its  feeding  value  for  pigs,  the  same  as 
1  Kept  15,  1889. 


698 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


does  cooking  feed.  A  study  at  slaughtering  time  of  the  carcasses 
of  the  pigs  fed  as  described  on  the  preceding  page  gave  the  re- 
sults shown  in  the  following  table: 

Average  data  at  slaughtering  time  with  hogs  fed  Mood  bread  and 
grain —  Copenhagen  Station. 


Feed. 

Aver- 
age live 
weight. 

Shrink- 
age. 

Aver- 
age 
thick- 
ness of 
pork. 

Softness 
of  pork. 

No.  of  carcasses 
in  class. 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

Grain  with  milk  
Blood  bread  with 
milk  

Lbs. 

192 

182 

173 
158 

Lbs. 

26.0 
32.2 

26.4 

29.2 

Inches. 

1.6 
1.3 

1.4 
1.2 

Points. 

1.7 

3.4 

2.8 
4.6 

7 
10 

7 
5 

3 

2 
5 

Grain  with  whey  
Blood  bread  with 
whey 

The  results  show  that  the  quality  of  the  pork  produced  by  the 
lot  fed  blood  bread  was  on  the  whole  inferior  to  that  produced 
by  the  grain-fed  lot. 

In  regard  to  shrinkage,  and  the  quality  of  pork  as  shown  by 
the  number  of  points  for  softness  for  the  different  lots,  the  live 
weights  of  the  lots  fed  blood  bread  and  milk  were  more  in  accord 
with  the  demands  of  the  market  than  those  of  the  correspond- 
ing lots  fed  grain.  This  explains  why  all  animals  in  this  lot 
were  placed  in  Class  I.  Besides  yielding  soft  pork  with  consider- 
able shrinkage,  the  blood  bread  showed  a  tendency  to  produce  too 
thin  an  external  layer  of  fat,  making  what  the  pork-packers  call 
a  "skinny"  carcass.  (338) 

II.   Various  Problems  in  Pig  Feeding. 

903.  Shelter  for  pigs. —  Two  experiments1  were  made  with 
eight  pigs  each,  separated  into  two  lots,  each  pig  receiving  the 
following  feed  daily:  6.2  pounds  skim  milk;  6.5  pounds  wheyj 
2.2  pounds  rye,  barley,  corn  and  peanut  meal,  mixed. 

Lot  I  ran  in  the  open  yard  during  the  day,  while  Lot  II  was 

'  Bept.  10, 1887. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments. 


599 


kept  indoors.     The  experiment  lasted  130  days,  with  the  average 
weights  and  gains  shown  in  the  table: 

Results  of  shelter  tests  with  pigs  —  Copenhagen  Station. 


Experiment  I. 

Experiment  II. 

Av.  daily 
gain, 
both 
trials. 

Av.  wt. 

at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Av. 

daily 
gain. 

Av.  wt. 
at  be- 
gin- 
ning. 

Av. 

daily 
gain. 

Pigs  kept  indoors     

Lbs. 

64.5 
64.0 

Lbs. 

.80 
.91 

Lbs. 

63.8 
62.5 

Lbs. 

.81 

.87 

Lbs. 

.80 
.89 

Pigs  kept  outdoors  

The  number  of  animals  in  the  trial  is  too  small  to  allow  gen- 
eralization, but  the  result  favors  exercise  for  light  pigs.  (838) 

904.  Effect  of  addition  of  water  to  feed. —  Three  experiments1 
were  conducted  with  68  pigs,  the  trials  continuing  60,  120  and 
160  days,  respectively.  In  Experiment  I  the  skim  milk  and 
buttermilk  fed  Lot  A  was  diluted  with  twice  its  volume  of  water; 
Lot  B  received  one-half  this  quantity  of  water.  In  Experiments 
II  and  III  as  much  water  was  added  to  the  milk  of  Lot  A  as 
there  was  skim  milk.  Lot  B  was  allowed  water  at  will,  supplied 
separately.  The  feed  eaten  and  gains  are  shown  in  the  table: 

Results  of  watering  the  feed  of  pigs  —  Copenhagen  Station. 


Skim 
milk. 

Butter- 
milk. 

t 
£ 

Grain. 

Water. 

Av. 

wt. 

Daily 
gains 
made. 

Expt.  I,  Lot  A... 
Expt.  I,  Lot  B... 

Lbs. 

3.0 
3.0 

Lbs. 

3.0 
3.0 

Lbs. 

8.0 
8.0 

Lbs. 

2.3 
2.3 

Lbs. 

12.0 
6.0 

Lbs. 

121.8 
129.0 

Lbs. 

.73 
.71 

Expt.  II,  Lot  A.. 

14.5 

1  0 

2  6 

14  5 

72  7 

92 

Expt.  II,  Lot  B. 

14  5 

1  0 

2  3 

2  6* 

72  2 

1  02 

Expt.  Ill,  Lot  A 

10  5 

1.0 

1.3 

10  5 

27  0 

.68 

Expt.  Ill,  Lot  B 

10  5 

1  0 

1  3 

1  0* 

29  3 

67 

*  Water  ad  libitum. 

The  average  of  the  three  trials  shows  a  daily  gain  of .  78  pounds 
for  Lot  A,  getting  water  with  their  feed,  and  .80  pounds  for  Lot 

i  Kept.  10,  1887. 


600 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


B,  getting  less  water.  As  the  results  are  practically  equal,  it 
cannot  be  said  that  the  addition  of  water  to  the  skim  milk  was  a 
disadvantage  in  these  trials. 

905.  Winter  and  summer  feeding  compared. —  Pig-feeding  ex- 
periments conducted  by  the  Copenhagen  Station1  since  1887  have 
been  summarized  with  a  view  of  obtaining  information  concern- 
ing the  amount  of  feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  growth  in 
winter  and  in  summer.  In  all  trials  the  skim  milk,  whey,  roots, 
etc.,  fed  have  been  reduced  to  their  grain  equivalent  as  deter- 
mined by  the  various  trials.  The  animals  were  separated  into 
three  groups,  according  to  their  live  weight.  The  following  aver- 
age results  as  to  feed  eaten  for  one  pound  of  increased  live  weight 
were  obtained: 

Feed  consumed  for  one  hundred  pounds  increase  with  pigs  in  winter 
and  in  summer  —  Copenliagen  Station. 


Period  of 
growth  and 
average  weight 
of  pigs. 

No.  of  experiments 

Feed  eaten  (grain 
equivalent)  per 
day  per  head. 

Feed  (grain  equiv- 
alent) for  100 
Ibs.  gain. 

Winter. 

Summer. 

Winter. 

Summer. 

Winter. 

Summer. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

35  to  751bs.... 
75  to  115  IDS  
115tol551bs  

Totals     and 
averages  ... 

10 
43 
47 

17 
39 
43 

2.66 
3.96 
5.26 

2.65 
3.92 
5.25 

371 
446 
516 

346 
397 
457 

100 

99 

3.96 

3.94 

444 

400 

The  table  gives  the  average  results  of  100  experiments  in  win- 
ter and  99  in  summer.  Since  each  trial  included  from  20  to  30 
animals,  or  more,  we  have  the  average  results  obtained  with 
feeding  at  least  2,500  animals.  The  feed  for  one  pound  of  gain, 
given  in  " totals  and  averages,"  is  the  arithmetical  mean  of  each 
set  of  three  figures  in  the  different  columns,  the  data  for  eacli 
period  of  growth  being  considered  of  equal  value  without  regard 
to  the  number  of  experiments  included  in  each,  since  all  the 
groups  contain  an  ample  number  of  experiments  to  give  a  true 
expression  of  the  feed  requirements  of  the  animals  embraced 
within  each  period. 

» Bept.  30,  1895. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments. 


601 


We  note  that  the  pigs  ate  only  a  little  more  feed  in  winter  than 
in  summer,  and  that  it  required  44  pounds  or  11  per  cent,  more 
feed  in  winter  than  in  summer  to  produce  100  pounds  of  gain. 
The  figures  given  doubtless  express  the  feed  requirements  of  pigs 
under  ordinary  conditions  in  Denmark.  The  climate  of  Denmark 
is  tempered  by  cool  summers  and  is  not  excessively  cold  in  win- 
ter. The  average  temperatures  observed  during  the  trials  are 
given  in  the  following  table,  the  figures  being  for  the  air,  stable 
and  feed: 
Temperatures  recorded  in  pig-feeding  trials  —  Copenhagen  Station. 


Period  of 
growth. 

No.  of  experi- 
ments. 

Temperature,  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

Winter. 

Summer. 

Winter. 

Summer. 

Air. 

Stable. 

Feed. 

Air. 

Stable. 

Feed. 

35  to  75  Ibs.... 
75  to  115  Ibs... 
115  to  155  Ibs... 

9 
36 
25 

17 
35 
24 

35.6 
34.3 
36.0 

47.7 

48.7 
49.1 

50.2 
51.1 
52.9 

58.8 
59.2 
56.1 

61.2 
61.2 
59.9 

59.4 
59.9 
58.3 

The  table  shows  there  was  an  average  difference  of  only  20  or 
25  degrees  Fahr.  between  the  summer  and  winter  temperature 
when  the  experiments  were  conducted.  These  differences  show 
a  narrower  range  than  prevails  in  most  parts  of  the  United  States. 

906.  Light  versus  heavy  feeding. —  In  two  series  of  experiments 
with  60  animals  in  all, l  the  influence  of  the  intensity  of  feeding 
on  gain  was  made  a  special  object  of  investigation.  One  experi- 
ment lasted  120  days,  the  other  210  days.  The  feeds  used  were 
barley,  buttermilk,  skim  milk  and  whey. 

Results  from  heavy  and  light  feeding  —  Copenhagen  Station. 


Feeding. 

Grain  fed 
daily. 

Av.  wt.  of 
pigs  at  be- 
ginning of 
exp't. 

Gain  per 
day. 

Grain  for 
100  Ibs. 
gain. 

Tjiffht 

Lbs. 
3  61 

Lbs. 
34  9 

Lbs. 
92 

Lbs. 
391 

Medium,          

4  23 

35  0 

1  07 

397 

Heavy  

4  51 

35.1 

1  12 

404 

Kept.  30,  1895. 


602 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


These  results  indicate  a  tendency  toward  a  poorer  utiliza- 
tion of  the  feed  in  the  heavier  feeding;  the  differences  obtained 
are  not,  however,  so  great  as  in  the  case  of  winter  and  summer 
feeding. 

907.  Feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain. —  In  the  following 
table1  the  grain  or  its  equivalent  required  for  100  pounds  of 
gain  is  reported  for  355  animals  in  16  experiments.  These  trials 
were  with  pigs  ranging  from  35  to  315  pounds,  live  weight.  The 
figures  given  in  the  second  line  of  the  table  are  the  arithmetical 
means  of  all  figures  for  pigs  coming  within  the  range  of  live 
weight  given  in  each  column.  Seven  experiments  supplying 
additional  data  for  the  five  intermediate  periods  are  given  in  the 
third  line.  The  results  of  these  important  investigations  are 
summarized  in  the  following  table: 

Grain  or  equivalent  fed  to  produce  100  pounds  gain  with  pigs  — 
Copenhagen  Station. 


Average  weight  of  pigs  in  lots  — 

I. 

35-75 
Ibs. 

II. 

75-115 
Ibs. 

III. 

115-155 
Ibs. 

IV. 

155-195 
Ibs. 

V. 

195-235 
Ibs. 

VI. 

235-275 
Ibs. 

VII. 

275-315- 
Ibs. 

No.  of  experiments  
Av.  feed  required,  Ibs.. 
Av.   feed    required  in 
seven      comparative 
experiments,  Ibs  

3 
376 

10 
435 

437 

13 

466 

465 

15 
513 

499 

14 

540 

543 

11 
614 

624 

3 
639 

We  notice  a  steady  increase  in  the  feed  required  to  produce 
100  pounds  of  gain  with  increasing  weight  of  the  animals.  Pigs 
weighing  275  pounds  required  nearly  twice  as  much  feed  for  100 
pounds  of  increase  as  those  weighing  from  35  to  75  pounds. 
(845) 

908.  Barrows  compared  with  sows. —  The  following  table,2 
which  includes  data  obtained  from  1,216  animals,  gives  informa- 
tion concerning  the  comparative  fattening  qualities  of  barrows 
and  sows. 

Although  data  from  a  large  number  of  animals  were  employed 
in  the  computation,  the  table  shows  no  practical  difference  in 

1  Kept.  30,  1895.  *  Loc.  cit. 


Danish  Pig-feeding  Experiments. 


603 


the  results  obtained  for  the  two  sexes  as  regards  either  gain, 
shrinkage,  or  quality  of  carcass. 

Comparative  fattening  qualities  of  barrows  and  sows  —  Copenhagen 

Station. 


• 

Barrow. 

Sow. 

No.  of  animals 
in  trials. 

Barrow. 

Sow. 

Av.  wt.  per  head  at  beginning,  Ibs. 
Av.  wt.  per  head  at  close,  Ibs  

54 
167 

55 
165 

586 
575 
11 
575 
364 

630 
613 
17 
613 
373 

Animals  dropped  during  expts 

Daily  gain  per  head,  Ibs  

.987 
22.6 
1.5 
1.4 
33.3 

44 
33 
20 
3 

.975 
23.2 
1.4 
1.5 
33.7 

56 
29 
12 
3 

Shrinkage,  per  cent  

Thickness  of  pork  inches 

Softness  of  pork  points 

Length  of  body  inches. 

Percentage  classification: 
Class     I  

160 
120 
72 
12 

209 
108 
43 
13 

Class   II  

Class  III         .    . 

Class  IV  

909.  Breed  tests. —  Six  essentially  pure  breeds  of  swine, l  in- 
cluding 120  animals  in  all,  were  compared,  the  trials  lasting  148 
to  168  days  each,  with  the  following  average  daily  gains: 

Eesults  of  breed  tests  —  Copenhagen  Station. 


Breed. 

Average  weight  at  begin- 
ning of  trials. 

Average  daily  gain 
per  head. 

I. 

II. 

III. 

I. 

II. 

III. 

Vendsyssel  

Lbs. 

20.5 
20.3 
19.9 

Lbs. 
30.4 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

.99 
.91 
94 

Lbs. 
.94 

Lbs. 

Native  
Hoist  ebro  

19.9 

.92 

Tamworth  

30.2 

.97 

Poland-China  

19  8 

.93 

The  animals  of  the  native  breeds  made  the  poorest  gain,  and 
the  Yendsyssel  and  Tamworth  the  best,  but  the  differences  were 
small.  Neither  did  the  data  obtained  at  slaughtering  time  show 
any  appreciable  difference  between  the  breeds  as  to  value  of  car- 
cass, except  that  the  Poland- China  breed  proved  superior  to  the 
native,  on  account  of  the  greater  hardness  of  the  pork.  (835) 

1  Kept.  15,  1889. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

FEEDING  AND  MANAGEMENT  OF  SWINE  —  EFFECT  OF  FEED  ON 
THE  CARCASS  OF  THE  PIG. 

I.  Feeding  and  Management. 

910.  Breeding  stock. —  In  the  successful  management  of  breed- 
ing stock  the  prime  requisite  is  ample  pasture,  that  the  animals 
may  be  maintained  in  the  open  air  and  sunshine,  away  from  pens 
and  yards,  during  as  large  a  portion  of  the  year  as  possible. 
Roaming  in  pastures  covered  with  nutritious  clovers  and  grasses, 
the  pigs  will  develop  healthy  bodies.     The  pasture  will  not  alone 
suffice  for  nutriment  and  should  be  supplemented  by  foods  espe- 
cially adapted  to  bone  and  muscle  building.     Pigs  of  the  larger 
breeds  should  receive  sufficient  nutriment  to  insure  about  one 
pound  of  growth  per  day,  in  order  to  reach  the  standard  weight 
of  300  pounds  when  one  year  old.   (841) 

The  boar  should  be  kept  on  pasture  as  much  as  possible,  and 
when  confined  should  be  provided  with  a  large  lot  for  exercise. 
After  the  growth  of  the  framework  is  completed  this  animal 
should  receive  only  sufficient  feed  to  continue  in  fair  condition, 
all  tendency  to  grossness  being  avoided.  It  is  especially  impor- 
tant to  supply  coarse  feeds,  as  roots,  whole  oats,  bran,  and  boiled 
chaffed  clover  hay. 

911.  Feed  for  the  brood  sow. —  The  feed  for  the  sow  before  far- 
rowing should  be  nutritious  but  not  concentrated.     Heavy,  con- 
centrated feed  stuffs  may  be  extended  or  given  volume  by  using 
bran,  which  serves  well  for  this  purpose,  and  roots,  which  are 
much  relished,  and  by  supplying  chaffed  clover  or  alfalfa  hay 
softened  with  boiling  water.     Some  corn  may  be  fed,  but  meals 
rich  in  protein — oats,  peas,  middlings  and  barley — should  supply 
most  of  the  nutriment.     Breeders  differ  in  their  management  of 
sows  before  farrowing,  some  insisting  that  they  be  held  in  thin 
flesh,  while  others  would  have  them  in  high  condition.     They 
will  prove  satisfactory  when  in  good  flesh,  provided  it  is  put  oil 


Feeding  and  Management  of  Swine.  605 

under  proper  regulations  as  to  character  of  feed  and  amount 
of  exercise.  As  farrowing-time  approaches  let  the  feed  be  sloppy 
and  limited  in  quantity.  Any  tendency  to  costiveness  should  be 
overcome  by  feeding  bran,  oil  meal,  roots,  or  other  feeds  of  a  cor- 
rective character.  For  two  or  three  days  after  farrowing  supply 
only  a  limited  quantity  of  feed.  A  thin,  warm  slop  made  of  mid- 
dlings, oatmeal  with  a  very  little  oil  meal,  poured  a  little  at  a 
time  into  the  feeding  trough,  will  quench  the  thirst  of  the  new 
mother  and  answer  all  requirements.  Eating  her  young,  an  act 
quite  common  with  brood  sows,  is  unnatural,  and  reflects  upon 
the  management  of  the  feeder,  indicating  that  feed  and  exercise 
have  not  been  properly  regulated. 

912.  Importance  of  exercise. —  Sows  carrying  much  flesh,  made 
while  confined  in  small  pens,  will  prove  at  best  unsatisfactory 
breeders.     In  summer,  exercise  is  easily  secured  by  the  use  of 
pasture,  but  winter  conditions  at  the  North  are  so  adverse  to  out- 
door life  of  the  pig  that  much  ingenuity  is  called  for  on  the 
part  of  the  herdsman  to  attain  the  desired  end.     Sows  will  gain 
exercise  in  winter,  when  the  weather  is  not  too  severe,  if  turned 
into  sheltered  yards  where  horses  and  cattle  will  not  annoy  them. 
If  litter  from  the  stable  is  thrown  in  the  yard,  exercise  will  be 
gained  while  working  this  over  in  search  of  waste  grains.     Some 
exercise  can  also  be  forced  by  scattering  grains  of  corn  or  oats, 
preferably  the  latter,  very  thinly  over  the  feeding  floor.     In 
gathering  the  grains  the  sows  will  be  kept  upon  their  feet  for  some 
time.     If  exercise  can  be  secured  in  no  other  way,   the  sows 
should  be  driven  for  some  time  each  day  by  the  herdsman  along 
a  lane  or  roadway  or  about  the  yard. 

913.  Feeding  sow  and  pigs. —  If  all  goes  well  at  farrowing- 
time,   the  feed  may  be  gradually  increased  after  two  or  three 
days,  with  the  increasing  flow  of  milk  and  the  growing  demands 
of  the  pigs,  until  a  full  ration  is  supplied.     Brood  sows  should 
be  heavily  fed,  for  the  gains  of  young  pigs  are  made  at  low  cost 
for  feed  consumed.   (831)     Good  brood  sows  with  large  litters 
will  usually  fall  off  in  weight  despite  the  best  of  care  and  feed,  but 
such  decrease  is  no  reflection  upon  the  skill  of  the  feeder.     In 
feeding  a  brood  sow  the  herdsman  can  draw  upon  all  feeds  at  his 


606  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

command.  Middlings,  ground  oats  and  corn  meal  are  particu- 
larly useful  and  should  be  liberally  supplied;  some  bran,  ground 
peas,  barley  and  other  grains  will  also  prove  helpful.  The  by- 
products of  the  dairy  —  skim  milk  and  buttermilk  —  are  always 
in  place  and  may  be  used  to  almost  any  extent.  Cooked  roots, 
potatoes  or  pumpkins  with  a  liberal  admixture  of  meal  form  an 
acceptable  ration. 

At  farrowing-time,  as  soon  as  the  young  pigs  have  drawn  their 
first  sustenance,  it  is  well  to  at  once  separate  them  from  the  dam, 
placing  them  near  by  in  a  chaff-lined  box  or  barrel.  Sows  which 
have  been  properly  handled  before  farrowing  will  not  usually  re- 
sist such  separation.  Here  the  pigs  are  safe  from  harm,  and  the 
attendant  can  pass  them  to  the  dam  at  intervals  of  a  few  hours 
for  nourishment.  Mature  sows  are  often  so  clumsy  that  unless 
some  precaution  is  taken  they  will  kill  their  young  by  lying  upon 
them.  After  two  or  three  days  the  pigs  are  sufficiently  strong 
and  active  to  be  entirely  given  over  to  the  care  of  the  dam. 
Pigs  often  injure  the  teats  or  udders  of  the  sow  while  sucking, 
because  of  sharp  teeth.  Their  mouths  should  be  examined  and 
the  injurious  members  filed  or  broken  off — a  simple  operation. 

When  two  or  three  weeks  old,  pigs  will  take  a  little  nourish- 
ment provided  for  them  in  a  separate  trough,  which  should  be 
located  at  a  convenient  point  in  pen  or  lot  accessible  to  the  pigs 
but  not  to  the  dam.  At  first,  place  only  a  pint  or  two  of  feed  in 
the  trough,  and  when  this  is  eaten  give  more.  Skim  milk  will 
be  the  most  relished,  but  in  its  absence  a  thin  porridge  of  mid- 
dlings or  sieved  ground  oats  with  a  little  oil  meal  will  prove  sat- 
isfactory. Soaked  grains  of  corn  scattered  over  the  feeding  floor 
will  keep  the  young  things  busy  and  on  their  feet,  getting  exercise 
while  securing  nourishment.  The  pigs  should  be  encouraged  to 
eat  as  much  as  possible  from  the  side  trough. 

914.  Exercise  for  young  pigs. —  Well-nurtured  young  pigs  often 
become  very  fat,  and  many  die  unless  abundant  exercise  is  pro- 
vided. If  sufficient  exercise  cannot  be  given,  danger  can  in  part 
be  averted  by  reducing  the  feed  supply,  though  by  this  growth 
is  more  or  less  checked.  In  the  absence  of  more  natural  exercise, 
the  herdsman  should  turn  the  pigs  out  of  doors  two  or  three 


Feeding  and  Management  of  Swine.  607 

times  a  day  and  drive  them  about  the  yard  for  a  time.  Selle1 
describes  a  means  of  exercise  for  winter  pigs  as  follows:  Wagon 
loads  of  sods  are  placed  in  the  cellar  in  the  fall.  In  winter  these 
sods,  with  bits  of  meat  scrap  or  cracklings  added,  are  thrown  into 
the  pens,  to  be  worked  over  by  the  young  pigs.  In  searching  for 
cracklings  or  scraps  in  the  sods  the  pigs  get  exercise  by  rooting 
as  well  as  some  feed. 

Upon  the  first  appearance  of  scouring  or  other  ailment,  the  sup- 
ply of  food  should  be  reduced  and  the  diet  changed  if  possible. 
Carefully  remove  all  excrement  and  change  the  animals  to  new 
quarters  if  they  can  be  provided. 

915.  Weaning  the  pigs. —  Pigs  are  generally  weaned  when  from 
seven  to  ten  weeks  old.     This  is  best  accomplished  by  first  re- 
moving the  two  strongest  members  of  the  litter  to  a  separate  pen, 
and  after  two  or  three  days  taking  away  others,  always  choosing 
the  most  vigorous,  until  all  are  removed.     Under  this  practice  the 
milk  flow  of  the  dam  will  gradually  diminish  until  it  ceases. 
Many  breeders  allow  pigs  to  wean  themselves, —  a  result  reached 
without  difficulty  where  they  are  liberally  supplied  with  palata- 
ble nourishment  at  a  side  trough.     When  the  pigs  are  weaned 
they  should  be  placed  in  groups  of  not  over  twenty,  care  being 
taken  that  the  members  in  each  group  are  the  same  size.    Where 
large  numbers  of  pigs  of  varying  sizes  range  together,  the  weaker 
ones  are  at  a  disadvantage  at  the  feed  trough  and  are  liable  to 
permanent  injury  from  lack  of  feed  and  the  rough  treatment  they 
receive. 

916.  Teeding  shotes. —  Under  good  management,  the  period  be- 
tween weaning  and  fattening  the  pig  is  bridged  without  difficulty. 
First,  let  this  animal  be  kept  upon  natural  earth,  having  the 
freedom  of  the  pasture  as  long  as  possible.     There  is  no  better 
place  for  the  growing  pig  intended  for  either  breeding  or  fatten- 
ing than  a  wood-lot  of  mixed  herbage  or  a  pasture  carpeted  with 
blue  grass,  clover  or  alfalfa.     Pigs  should  wear  no  rings  in  their 
noses  unless  much  rooting  is  done,  for  this  cruel  restriction  works 
injury  to  the  animal  in  several  ways.     While  on  pasture,  the 
shote  should  still  receive  feed  possessing  bulk  and  carrying  a 

1  Wis.  Farmers'  Institute  Bui.,  1894. 


608  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

liberal  supply  of  protein  for  muscle  building  and  ash  for  the  bones. 
If  these  are  amply  supplied,  some  corn  may  be  fed  without  harm. 
The  feeder  should  aim  to  keep  the  pig  steadily  increasing  in 
weight  from  one-half  to  one  pound  per  day,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  animal.  (830) 

917.  Fattening  the  pig. —  Pigs  are  now  prepared  for  market  at  all 
ages  and  the  feeder  should  be  governed  by  local  requirements. 
A  pig  which  has  been  reared  on  pasture  supplemented  with  feed- 
ing stuffs  rich  in  protein  and  ash  can  be  rapidly  and  economically 
fitted  for  the  market.     Having  been  supplied  with  nutritious, 
cooling  grasses  and  other  plants  of  the  field,  the  digestive  tract 
of  this  animal  becomes  ample  in  size,  healthy,  active,  and  easily 
able  to  digest  large  quantities  of  feed,  the  whole  system  being  in 
condition  to  assimilate  the  nutriment  supplied  and  utilize  it  to 
the  fullest  extent. 

n.  Feed  for  Swine. 

918.  Feeding  corn. —  In  this  country  Indian  corn  must  continue 
the  common  feeding  stuff  for  swine.     Because  it  is  rich  in  carbo- 
hydrates and  fat  and  low  in  protein  and  ash,  the  special  function 
of  this  grain  in  pig  feeding  is  the  production  of  fat.  (154)     Hav- 
ing a  proper  knowledge  of  its  composition  and  limitations,  the 
feeder  is  in  position  to  wisely  use  this  great  cereal.     For  breed- 
ing stock,  corn  should  constitute  not  over  half  the  ration  at  any 
time,  the  amount  being  smallest  with  young  animals.   As  the  body 
increases  in  size  and  nears  maturity,  the  demand  for  protein  and 
ash  becomes  less,  and  the  proportion  of  corn  to  other  grain  can 
be  gradually  increased,  until  during  the  fattening  stage  the  ration 
may,  if  desired,  consist  almost  wholly  of  this  grain. 

Whether  corn  should  be  fed  whole  or  as  meal  depends  upon 
circumstances.  (848)  If  the  kernels  are  so  hard  as  to  cause  sore 
mouths,  thereby  preventing  easy  mastication,  the  grain  should 
be  ground.  If  no  trouble  arises  from  this  source,  the  utility  of 
grinding  hinges  on  the  relative  cost  of  grain  and  grinding.  We 
have  seen  (848)  that  some  grain  is  saved  by  reduction  to  meal, 
and  the  feeder  can  easily  estimate  whether  he  should  incur 
the  extra  expense  of  grinding.  Where  grinding  is  not  possible 


Feeding  and  Management  of  Swine.  609 

hard  corn  may  be  prepared  for  feeding  by  soaking  the  grains. 
Ear  corn  and  shelled  corn  can  be  satisfactorily  fed  to  fattening 
pigs  upon  a  feeding  floor  of  matched  lumber,  swept  clean  each 
day.  Corn  meal  should  always  be  soaked  with  water  before 
feeding,  the  dry  meal  being  unpalatable.  Kemembering  that 
feeds  in  combination  are  better  than  the  same  feeds  given  singly, 
the  prudent  stockman  will  provide  some  complementary  feed  for 
pigs  getting  corn,  even  though  the  proportion  of  the  secondary 
feed  be  small.  (894) 

919.  Demand  for  leaner  pork. —  Consumers  at  home  and  abroad 
are  calling  for  leaner  pork,  and  the  feeder  should  cater  to  market 
requirements.     The  demand  can  be  met  by  using  more  protein- 
rich  feeds,  with  less  corn,  during  the  growth  of  the  pig,  and 
especially  by  shortening  the  fattening  period.     Feeding  the  by- 
products of  milling,  oats,  barley,  or  the  waste  products  of  the 
dairy,  with  corn,  the  fattening  period  not  being  unduly  pro- 
longed, produces  pork  which  will  easily  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  most  discriminating  market.   (894) 

920.  Why  lard  rules  low  in  price. —  Millions  of  barrels  of  mineral 
oil  are  now  obtained  yearly  from  the  oil  wells,  and  an  enormous 
quantity  of  vegetable  oil  is  produced  from  the   cotton  seed. 
The  combined  effect  of  these  two  articles  is  to  limit  the  use  of 
animal  fats  to  the  dining-table,  while  formerly  they  served  for 
both  lubricants  and  illuminants  as  well  as  for  human  food.     The 
introduction  and  general  use  of  the  oils  named  has  brought 
about  one  of  the  greatest  economic  changes  of  recent  times.     In 
this  change  we  have  an  explanation  of  the  low  prices  ruling  for 
lard  and  tallow.     Despite  the  low  price  for  animal  fats,  con- 
sumers are  calling  for  still  less  fat  in  pork,  or  at  least  a  larger 
proportion  of  lean  to  fat.     So  long  as  oil  can  be  secured  from  the 
earth  and  from  the  cotton  seed,  we  cannot  hope  for  high  prices 
for  lard  or  other  animal  fats.     With  these  conditions  confronting 
us,  there  seems  no  alternative  but  to  produce  more  lean  and  less 
fat  pork. 

921.  Wheat. —  We  have  seen  (851)  that  wheat  divides  honors 
with  corn  in  its  ability  to  produce  gain  with  pigs,  and  because  it 
contains  more  protein  and  ash  it  comes  nearer  fulfilling  the  re- 

39 


610  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

quirements  of  an  all-around  feed.  Wheat  is  much  superior  to 
corn  for  young  pigs  and  shotes.  (167,  802)  The  flesh  of  wheat- 
fed  pigs  is  considered  very  satisfactory,  generally  carrying  less 
fat  than  that  from  corn-fed  animals.  Because  the  grains  are 
small  and  hard,  wheat  should  always  be  reduced  to  meal  before  it 
is  fed.  Soaked  wheat  has  proved  unsatisfactory  with  many  feed- 
ers. As  we  have  seen,  (852)  wheat  and  corn  meal  in  combina- 
tion give  better  gains  than  either  separately. 

922.  Middlings. —  As  a  feed  for  swine  at  all  periods  of  their 
development,  middlings    stand    pre-eminent.     Because  it  con- 
tains much  protein  and  ash  and  is  not  loaded  with  crude-fiber 
like  bran,  this  feeding  stuff  is  particularly  suited  to  the  nourish- 
ment of  very  young  pigs,  ranking  next  to  the  by-products  of  the 
dairy  for  that  purpose.   (107)     Middlings  serve  admirably  with 
corn  for  feeding  pigs  during  the  fattening  period.     Like  other 
milling  by-products,  middlings  are  said  to  produce  soft  pork,  and 
therefore  should  never  be  fed  alone,  but  always  with  corn,  barley 
or  other  grains. 

923.  Bran. —  This  part  of  the  wheat  grain  carries  much  protein 
and  mineral  matter,  but  its  fibrous,  chaffy  character  renders  it 
unfit  for  the  digestive  apparatus  of  the  young  pig,  which  has  but 
a  limited  capacity.  (896)     Middlings  rather  than  bran  should  be 
fed  to  young  pigs,  but  as  they  increase  in  size  some  bran  may 
be  fed  with  advantage,  especially  where  it  is  desirable  to  add 
volume  to  the  feed.     Bran  may  be  fed  with  good  results  to  breed- 
ing stock  and  to  a  limited  extent  to  fattening  swine,  the  amount 
in  the  latter  case  being  restricted,  lest  the  volume  of  the  feed 
be  too  much  increased.     Harris1  recommends  that  bran  be  sup- 
plied to  pigs  in  a  separate  trough,  where  they  can  eat  it  at  will. 

924.  Barley. —  Judging  from  the  European  standard,  barley 
leads  the  cereals  in  the  quality  of  pork  produced.   (894)     lu 
quantity  of  product  returned  from  feeding  a  given  weight  of 
grain  it  yields  to  corn.   (857,  894)     Because  consumers  are  grow- 
ing more  critical,  the  pig  feeder  should  study  the  uses  of  barley 
in  the  feeding  pen  that  he  may  profit  by  using  it  whenever  op- 
portunity offers.     Barley  flourishes  in  the  Western  states,  and  in 

1  The  Pig,  p.  253. 


Feeding  and  Management  of  Swine.  611 

conjunction  with  alfalfa  may  prove  instrumental  in  turning  many- 
sections  into  profitable  centers  of  pork  production.  This  becomes 
all  the  more  a  certainty  because  consumers  are  learning  to  appre- 
ciate the  higher  grades  of  pork. 

925.  Peas. —  Where  this  plant  flourishes,  farmers  will  find  peas 
an  excellent  feed  for  swine.     Because  of  the  large  amount  of  pro- 
tein they  contain  peas  can  be  used  with  advantage  in  feeding 
young  pigs,  shotes,  and  in  the  production  of  lean  pork.     Farmers 
living  north  of  the  corn  belt  may  find  pork  production  still  prof- 
itable through  the  proper  use  of  peas.     For  feeding  swine,  peas 
should  be  ground,  and,  because  of  the  high  protein  content  and 
the  heavy  character  of  the  meal  they  make,  they  should  always 
be  fed  in  conjunction  with  corn,  barley,  or  other  cereals.   (860) 

926.  Dairy  by-products. —  No  materials  are  more  generally  use- 
ful in  all  stages  of  swine  feeding  than  skim  milk  and  buttermilk. 
They  should  be  supplied  only  in  limited  quantity  to  brood  sows 
before  farrowing;  after  farrowing  the  limit  need  scarcely  be  set. 
As  trials  show,  (869)  the  best  returns  are  secured  when  not  over 
three  pounds  of  milk  are  fed  with  each  pound  of  meal  in  the 
ration.     Feeding  trials  have  also  shown  (108)  that  skim  milk 
favors  the  development  of  muscle  and  builds  the  strongest  bones. 
Cooke's  trials  (871)  indicate  that  sour  milk  has  a  high  feeding 
value  with  pigs.     Buttermilk,  when  not  diluted  with  washings 
from  the  creamery,  is  as  valuable  as  skim  milk  for  pigs.     As  a 
complementary  feed  corn  meal  stands  first,  since  it  is  rich  in  car- 
bohydrates, while  the  milk  furnishes  protein  and  ash,  the  bone 
and  muscle  building  elements.     Breeders  of  pure-bred  swine  will 
find  dairy  by-products  of  the  highest  utility  in  producing  pigs  of 
model  form  and  strong  bone.     (See  Chapter  VI.) 

927.  Clover  hay. —  An  omniverous  feeder  by  nature,  the  pig 
suffers  seriously  when  forced  to  subsist  upon  the  cereals  alone. 
Such  feeds  lack  the  bulk  or  volume  essential  to  healthy,  vigorous 
digestive  action.     An  excellent  corrective  for  concentrated  feeds 
in  winter  is  found  in  well-made  clover  hay.     For  pig  feeding, 
clover  hay  should  be  run  through  the  feed- cutter  and  the  chaff 
well  soaked  by  pouring  scalding  water  over  it.     To  the  material 
so  softened  add  meal,  and  teed  the  mixture  once  a  day  to  all  pigs 


612  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

except  those  in  the  last  stages  of  fattening.  While  the  pig  gets 
some  nourishment  from  the  hay,  much  of  the  advantage  is  doubt- 
less due  to  the  normal  distention  of  the  digestive  tract  effected 
by  this  material.  (876) 

928.  Pasture. —  Experienced  feeders  appreciate  the  value  of 
pasture  for  swine.     Doubtless  the  returns  from  an  acre  of  past- 
ure-land have  been  overstated  by  some  writers,  but  its  advan- 
tages, on  the  whole,  have  not  been  overdrawn.     The  results  at 
the  Utah  Station  (875)  show  that  a  gain  of  one- third  of  a  pound 
daily  is  possible  with  thrifty  shotes  on  good  alfalfa  pasture.     For 
pasture,  alfalfa  and  red  clover  doubtless  lead  all  other  plants  of 
the  field,  (875)  white  clover,  blue  grass  and  rape  following  in 
value.     Pasture  plants,  to  be  satisfactory  with  swine,  must  be 
short  and  tender,  all  effort  to  make  them  eat  the  long  stems  being 
useless.     Booting  in  pastures  tends  to  lengthen  the  skull,  increase 
the  size  of  the  animal's  head  and  enlarge  the  muscles  running 
along  the  back  of  the  neck.   (832)     Where  health  and  lean 
meat  are  the  objects  sought,  pigs  should  have  no  rings  in  their 
noses,  and  should  be  allowed  to  govern  their  own  actions  as  to 
how  much  they  tear  up  the  sod  in  search  of  animal  and  vegetable 
food.     All  means  for  preventing  rooting  are  at  best  necessary 
evils.     When  on  pasture  pigs  should  be  fed  grain,  the  amount  of 
green  forage  consumed  about  supporting  them,  leaving  the  addi- 
tional food  to  be  utilized  in  increasing  their  weight. 

929.  Administration  of  feed. —  Suckling  pigs  take  nourishment 
from  the  dam  about  every  two  hours,  and  we  may  accept  Nature's- 
guidance  for  the  frequency  of  feeding  very  young  animals.     At 
weaning  time  the  pigs  should  receive  feed  at  least  three  times 
daily,  with  water  always  accessible.     Since  the  digestive  tract  of 
this  animal  is  of  limited  volume,  probably  the  best  results  in  fat- 
tening can  be  obtained  with  three  feeds  daily;  but  habit  controls 
here  as  elsewhere,  and  stockmen  can  easily  accustom  their  ani- 
mals to  expect  feed  morning  and  evening  only,  meanwhile  being 
content. 

Since  meal  when  dry  is  more  slowly  masticated  than  when 
moistened,  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  greater  addition  of  saliva 
consequent  upon  slow  eating  would  increase  the  digestibility  of 


Feeding  and  Management  of  Swine.  613 

meal  so  fed,  bnt  the  trials  so  far  made  favor  moistening  the  feed 
with  water.  Observation  shows  that  the  pig  does  not  take  kindly 
to  dry  meal,  eating  it  very  slowly,  and  often  rooting  much  of  it 
out  of  the  trough.  On  the  whole  sloppy  feeds  are  best  for  the 
pig.  (837) 

930.  Confinement. —  It  is  possible  to  confine  a  few  pigs  in  a  sty 
when  young  and  carry  them  successfully  to  the  end  of  their 
career,  but  only  a  limited  number  of  animals  can  be  managed  in 
one  pen  under  such  a  system.     When  handled  in  large  numbers 
pigs  should  be  given  ample  range  during  the  growing  period,  and 
be  confined  to  pens  only  during  the  fattening  stage.     Experiments 
show  that  the  best  gains  for  feed  consumed  are  secured  during  the 
first  four  weeks  of  confinement;  that  up  to  eight  weeks  good  re- 
sults are  possible;  while  if  the  feeding  period  is  extended  to 
twelve  weeks  the  gains  during  the  last  four  weeks  are  made  at  a 
greatly  increased  consumption  for  a  given  gain.     As  a  rule  pigs 
should  not  be  fed  over  eight  weeks  in  a  pen,  though  they  may  be 
held  somewhat  longer  if  a  rising  market  is  assured,  or  for  other 
good  cause.   (838,  847,  903) 

931.  Variety  in  feeding  stuffs. —  In  feeding  pigs  we  may  always 
rely  upon  two  feeding  stuffs  giving  better  results  than  one,  and,: 
guided  by  this,  the  feeder  should  have  a  variety  at  command.; 
(852)     Usually  he  has  on  hand  one  leading  variety  of  grain  or 
meal;  let  him  intelligently  search  for  complementary  feeds.    Por 
example,  if  corn  is  relied  upon  as  the  main  feed,  this  aliment,  so 
rich  in  carbonaceous  matter,  should  be  supplemented  with  one 
rich  in  protein  and  ash.     Milk,  middlings,  oat  meal  and  pea  meal 
naturally  supplement  corn,  and,  if  volume  is  desired,  bran  will 
prove  helpful. 

932.  Ball-feeding  show  pigs. —  Stephens1  describes  how,  toward 
the  close  of  the  feeding  period,  English  pigs  fed  for  exhibitions  are 
induced  to  put  on  the  last  possible  ounce  of  fat.    Equal  quantities 
of  bean,  corn,  barley  and  wheat  meals  are  used,  and  three  parts 
of  this  mixture  added  to  one  part  of  middlings,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  a  little  linseed  meal.     This  material  is  moistened  with 
milk  to  form  a  dough  and  made  into  balls  the  size  of  an  egg. 

1  Book  of  the  Farm. 


614  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

After  the  pigs  have  eaten  all  they  will  of  the  ordinary  feed  they 
are  given  a  dessert  of  these  balls  dipped  in  milk.  The  pigs  soon 
learn  to  sit  on  their  haunches  and  are  fed  the  dainty  morsels  one 
after  another  in  turn,  each  pig,  after  eating  the  thinner  food  given 
him  in  the  trough,  consuming  about  a  gallon  more  of  these  ball 
mixtures. 

933.  Influence  of  feed  on  quality  of  pork. —  Brewer1  summarizes 
his  experience  in  regard  to  the  influence  of  the  food  of  swine  on 
the  quality  of  the  flesh  produced,  as  follows: 

"The  best  flavored  pork  and.  the  heaviest  weight  of  the  same 
was  obtained  in  case  of  milk-fed  swine;  next  to  milk  came  the 
cereals  —  corn,  barley,  oats  and  peas.  Potatoes  produced  a  soft, 
light  pork  which  loses  a  good  deal  in  boiling.  The  meat  of  swine 
fed  on  flour-mill  by-products  was  yellow,  without  body,  and  of  a 
poor  flavor.  Oil  meals  produced  a  loose,  oily  pork  of  an  unpleas- 
ant flavor.  Beans  produced  a  hard,  indigestible  and  flavorless 
pork,  and  acorns  one  that  was  light,  hard  and  unhealthy." 

No  extended  work  has  yet  been  done  in  this  country  on  the 
influence  of  feeds  on  pork,  and  for  the  present  we  must  be  guided 
by  the  statements  of  foreign  observers,  mainly  the  Danish  inves- 
tigators. Here  is  an  important  field  for  our  Experiment  Stations. 
(885,  also  various  articles  in  Chapter  XXXIV. ) 

934.  Correctives  for  swine. —  Every  stockman  who  has  kept 
pigs  in  confinement  has  observed  their  strange  craving  for  seem- 
ingly unnatural  substances, —  sand  rock,  soft  brick,  mortar,  rot- 
ten wood,  charcoal,  soft  coal,  ashes,  soap  suds  and  many  other 
articles  being  greedily  devoured  when   offered.     Such  objects 
lie  outside  the  range  of  nutritive  substances,  and  we  are  puzzled 
to  know  why  they  should  be  so  eagerly  consumed.     In  the  wild 
state,  the  hog  ranges  through  woods  and  open  tracts,  living  upon 
small  animals,  larvae,  and  vegetation  generally.    This  material  is 
of  such  character  and  is  gathered  in  such  manner  that  some  of 
the  soil  is  swallowed  with  it.     With  rings  in  its  nose  to  prevent 
rooting  while  in  the  pasture,  confined  on  board  floors  during 
the  fattening  period  and  given  feeds  containing  little  ash,  the 
pig's  life  is  passed  under  unnatural  conditions.     Another  cause 

1  Gohren.  Futterungslehre,  1872,  p.  420. 


Feeding  and  Management  of  Swine.  615 

for  this  craving  may  be  intestinal  worms,  which  are  checked 
or  destroyed  by  some  of  the  substances  consumed.  Unsatisfac- 
tory or  incomplete  as  such  explanations  may  be,  the  fact  remains 
that  the  pig  seeks  out  these  unnatural  substances  and  greedily 
consumes  them.  The  feeder  would  best  supply  what  the  pig 
craves  in  this  direction  and  search  for  explanations  later  if  he 
wishes. 

Ashes  either  from  wood  or  coal  will  always  be  in  place  in  the 
feeding  pen  and  even  in  the  feed  lot.  It  is  surprising  how  much 
of  these  will  be  consumed  by  a  bunch  of  pigs.  Feeding  trials 
show  that  pigs  when  confined  to  an  exclusive  corn  diet  are 
greatly  benefited  by  ashes,  this  substance  causing  the  feed  to  be 
more  effective  and  adding  to  the  strength  of  the  bones — the 
latter  result  probably  being  due  to  the  lime  in  the  ashes.  (114) 
Bone  meal  is  another  substance  useful  for  strengthening  the  bones 
of  pigs.  By  saving  the  droppings,  substantially  all  the  value  of 
this  high-grade  fertilizer  may  be  secured  for  field  and  garden 
after  it  has  served  its  purpose  with  the  pigs. 

935.  Corn-cob  charcoal. —  Corn  cobs  are  abundant  in  districts 
where  swine  feeding  is  largely  practiced.  They  can  serve  no 
better  purpose  so  far  as  needed  than  in  producing  charcoal  for 
use  in  the  feeding  pens. 

The  following  directions  for  reducing  cobs  to  charcoal  are  given 
by  Theodore  Louis, l  a  breeder  of  high  repute  in  the  Northwest: 
"Dig  a  hole  in  the  ground  five  feet  deep,  one  foot  in  diameter  at 
the  bottom  and  five  feet  at  the  top,  for  the  charcoal  pit.  Take 
the  corn  cobs,  which  have  been  saved  in  a  dry  place,  and,  start- 
ing a  fire  in  the  bottom  of  this  pit,  keep  adding  cobs  so  that  the 
flame  is  gradually  drawn  to  the  top  of  the  pit,  which  will  be 
thus  filled  with  the  cobs.  Then  take  a  sheet  iron  cover,  similar 
to  a  pot  lid  in  form,  and  over  five  feet  in  diameter,  so  as  to 
amply  cover  the  hole  and  close  up  the  burning  mass,  sealing  the 
edges  of  this  lid  in  turn  with  earth.  At  the  end  of  twelve  hours 
you  may  uncover  and  take  out  a  fine  sample  of  corn-cob  charcoal." 

Charcoal  so  produced  may  be  fed  directly,  or,  better  still,  com- 
pounded as  directed  by  Mr.  Louis  in  the  following  manner: 

1  Farm,  Stock  and  Home,  July  15,  1894. 


616  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

1 1  Take  6  bushels  of  this  cob  charcoal,  or  3  bushels  of  common 
charcoal;  8  pounds  of  salt;  2  quarts  of  air-slacked  lime;  1  bushel 
of  wood  ashes.  Break  the  charcoal  well  down,  with  shovel  or 
other  implement,  and  thoroughly  mix.  Then  take  1 J-  pounds  of 
copperas  and  dissolve  in  hot  water,  and  with  an  ordinary  water- 
ing pot  sprinkle  over  the  whole  mass  and  then  again  mix  thor- 
oughly. Put  this  mixture  into  the  self- feeding  boxes,  and  plaoo 
them  where  hogs  of  all  ages  can  eat  of  their  contents  at  pleasure.77 
Where  corn  cobs  are  burned  for  fuel  in  the  prairie  districts  the 
ashes  should  be  saved  for  the  pigs. 

III.  Discussion  of  the  Experiments  Reported  in  Cliapter  VI  on  the 
Effects  of  Feed  on  the  Body  of  the  Pig. 

936.  Lessons  from  the  experiments. —  The  practical  bearings  of 
the  investigations  on  the  mal-nutrition  of  pigs  reported  in  Chapter 
VI  are  here  presented.     These  experiments  were  conducted  at 
several  Stations  in  widely  separated  states  and  countries  and  with 
different  feeds,  yet  the  results  were  concordant  in  showing  that 
the  frame  of  the  growing  animal  and  the  vital  organs  can  be 
greatly  modified    by  improper  nutrition, —  the    muscles    pro- 
duced by  such  feeding  being  less  than  normal  in  size,  the  bones 
robbed  of  their  strength,  the  vital  organs,  such  as  the  liver  and 
kidneys,  modified,  and  even  the  blood  reduced  in  quantity.    Are 
there  not  lessons  here  for  the  student,  and  the  breeder  and  feeder 
as  well,  which,  if  understood  and  appreciated,  will  help  to  a  bet- 
ter management  of  farm  animals,  especially  the  pig  ? 

937.  Limits  of  bone  and  muscle  development. —  In  studying 
these  experiments  we  should  understand  the  limitations  of  nature 
in  the  development  of  the  muscle  and  bone  systems.    No  feeds  or 
combinations  of  feeds  are  known  which  will  cause  an  animal  to 
develop  bone  and  muscle  beyond  what  is  set  by  inheritance.     It. 
was  shown  that  pigs  fed  skim  milk,  dried  blood  and  other  protein- 
rich  feeds  had  stronger  bones  and  larger  muscles  (more  lean  meat) 
than  those  receiving  corn  meal  only,  but  this  does  not  show  that 
these  animals  had  increased  in  bone  and  muscle  beyond  the  normal. 

In  supplying  pigs  in  these  experiments  with  feeds  rich  in  pro- 
tein and  ash,  their  bodies  were  developed  in  bone  and  muscle  to 


Feeding  and  Management  of  Swine.  617 

the  limit  of  their  constitutions  set  by  inheritance.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  growing  pigs  which  received  corn  only  during  the  trials 
were  prevented,  through  lack  of  sufficient  proper  nutrients,  from 
developing  normal  frames  of  bone  and  muscle.  Pigs  can  be  fed 
to  produce  bone  and  lean  meat  only  as  such  flesh  and  bone  are 
the  sequence  of  normal  development.  It  is  entirely  possible,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  so  feed  or  mal-nurture  them  as  to  prevent  a 
normal  growth  of  bone  and  muscle  or  lean  meat  while  storing 
abnormally  large  quantities  of  fat 

938.  The  fat  of  the  body.— Study  will  show  that  the  deposi- 
tion of  fat  in  the  body  is  a  matter  of  feed  and  conditions,  con- 
trolled primarily  by  inheritance  or  constitution  and  having  a 
wide  range  for  the  individual.     Fat  is  reserve  fuel  stored  in 
the  body  against  a  time  of  need.     This  true,  Nature,  which  has 
set  close  limits  to  the  development  of  the  animal  frame,  shows 
no  such  restriction  in  the  accumulation  of  fat.     If  conditions  and 
feed  are  favorable,  the  animal  stores  large  quantities  of  fat,  the 
ability  to  do  so  being  set  by  inheritance,  character  of  feed,  amount 
of  exercise,  etc. 

939.  Illustration  from  the  human  frame. —  We  can  best  illus- 
trate the  above  by  reference  to  the  human  frame.     No  person  by 
what  he  eats,  in  kind  or  quantity,  can  increase  in  bone  or  muscle 
beyond  the  normal  of  constitutional  inheritance.     On  the  other 
hand,  the  amount  of  fatty  matter  which  is  deposited  in  the  tissues 
of  the  human  body  varies  with  different  individuals,  according 
to  constitution,  habits,  character  of  food  and  amount  of  exercise 
taken.     The  grown  athlete  cannot  add  a  pound  of  muscle  to  his 
body  because  of  the  food  he  eats;   indeed,  when  he  goes  into 
training  he  reduces  his  weight,  losing  fat  and  water  from  the 
tissues.     While  a  human  being  cannot  add  to  his  stature  nor 
increase  the  muscles  of  his  body  by  the  kind  of  food  he  eats,  the 
fat  stored  in  the  tissues  may  in  extreme  cases  even  double  the 
normal  weight  of  the  body. 

940.  Lessons  for  breeder  and  feeder. —  The  observant  feeder 
and  breeder  of  swine  studying  these  trials  must  be  impressed  with 
the  plastic  character  of  the  body  of  the  growing  animal.     He 
learns  that  the  bones  and  muscles  as  well  as  some  of  the  internal 
organs  of  the  body  can  be  thrown  out  of  their  normal  relation 


618  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

one  to  another  through  an  unbalanced  or  improper  food  supply. 
He  sees  it  possible  for  immature  animals  to  live  a  long  time  with- 
out showing  disease,  while  being  dwarfed  in  form  and  made  pre- 
maturely fat.  He  learns  that  Nature's  plan  is  to  grow  the  frame- 
work first  and  lay  on  fat  afterwards.  He  understands  that  while 
no  farmer  would  feed  his  pigs  as  these  were  fed,  wrong  feeding 
may  nevertheless  unconsciously  be  practiced  by  many.  He  con- 
cludes, rightly,  that  if  a  pig  or  other  young  animal  is  mal-nur- 
tured  so  as  to  modify  its  bones,  muscles  and  vital  organs  ever  so 
little,  and  the  animal  so  affected  is  later  used  for  breeding  pur- 
poses, the  descendants  likewise  being  rnal- nurtured,  the  cumula- 
tive ill  effects  may  in  a  few  generations  become  very  marked.  He 
sees  disaster  through  the  excessive  use  of  corn,  rich  in  carbohy- 
drates but  poor  in  bone  and  muscle  elements,  as  the  sole  feed  for 
young  pigs.  On  the  other  hand,  he  studies  the  long  list  of  feed- 
ing stuffs  complementary  to  corn  which  will  build  strong  bones 
and  ample  muscles.  By  the  judicious  use  of  feed  mixtures  he 
secures  animals  of  great  vigor,  and  selecting  the  best  of  these  in 
framework  and  constitution,  he  holds  his  herd  to  a  high  standard. 
The  feeder  learns  that  the  young  pig  should  be  nurtured  upon 
a  combination  of  feeding  stuffs  that  will  first  develop  a  normal 
frame  of  bone  and  muscle.  Having  the  desired  frame,  if  the 
market  demands  lean  meat,  he  will  produce  this  to  the  limit  of 
the  pig's  normal  development,  adding  fat  at  the  close  of  the 
feeding  period  to  the  extent  desired  by  the  market.  In  America 
corn  is  the  common  feeding  stuff  for  swine,  and  pigs  show  such 
fondness  for  it  that  harm  often  results  because  the  practice  of 
the  feeder  and  breeder  is  guided  by  the  appetite  of  the  animal 
rather  than  by  a  knowledge  of  the  composition  and  limitations  of 
feeds.  Let  us  not  despise  corn  because,  when  wrongly  and  ex- 
cessively used  as  it  purposely  was  in  these  experiments  with 
young,  growing  pigs,  it  failed  to  develop  the  normal  framework 
of  bone  and  muscle.  Each  feed  has  its  function  in  the  nutrition 
of  animals,  and  only  by  its  abuse  can  unfavorable  results  follow. 
This  grain  has  enabled  the  United  States  to  take  first  rank  among 
nations  in  the  quantity  of  pork  produced,  and  upon  its  judicious 
use  rests  future  success. 


APPENDIX. 


TABLE  I.    AVERAGE  COMPOSITION  OF  AMERICAN  FEEDING 

STUFFS. 

This  table  is  mainly  from  Farmers'  Bulletin  22,  TJ.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  1895,  which  in  turn  is  based  on  Jenkins  and 
Winton's  tables  in  Bulletin  11,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations, 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington. 

Analyses  not  from  the  source  above  mentioned  are  in  most 
cases  from  the  following:  Zusammensetzung  der  Futterm.,  Diet- 
rich and  Konig;  Farm  Foods,  Wolff,  English  edition,  Cousins  j 
Woll,  Handbook  for  Farmers  and  Dairy  men ;  Holland,  Beport 
Massachusetts  (Hatch)  Experiment  Station,  1896 j  Jenkins  and 
Winton's  tables,  and  Bulletin  87,  New  Jersey  Experiment  Station. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Percentage  composition. 

No.  of 
analyses. 

Water. 

Ash. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitro- 
gen-free 
extract. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

CONCENTRATES. 
Corn,  dent  

10.6 
11.3 
8.8 
15.0 
10.7 
15.1 
9.1 
10.7 
11.1 
8.1 
10.9 
65.4 
9.1 
5.8 
8.1 
8.2 
7.8 

%10.5 
10.4 
10.5 

1.5 
1.4 
1.9 
1.4 
1.4 
1.5 
1.3 
4.0 
2.5 
1.3 
0.9 
0.3 
0.9 
2.8 
0.7 
0.9 
1.1 

1.8 
1.9 
1.8 

10.3 
10.5 
11.6 
9.2 
2.4 
8.5 
9.0 
9.8 
9.8 
11.1 
19.7 
6.1 
22.8 
31.1 
36.1 
29.3 
24.0 

11.9 
12.5 
11.8 

2.2 
1.7 
2.8 
1.9 
30.1 
6.6 
12.7 
4.1 
3.8 
9.9 
4.7 
3.1 
7.6 
12.0 
1.3 
3.3 
5.3 

1.8 
1.8 
1.8 

70.4 
70.1 
66.8 
68.7 
54.9 
64.8 
62.2 
64.0 
64.5 
62.5 
54.8 
22.0 
52.7 
33.4 
39.0 
46.5 
51.2 

71.9 
71.2 
72.0 

5.0 

5.0 
8.1 
3.8 
0.5 
3.5 
5.8 
7.4 
8.3 
7.1 
9.0 
3.1 
6.9 
14.9 
14.8 
11.8 
10.6 

2.1 
2.2 
2.1 

86 
68 
28 
77 
18 
7 
5 
3 
12 
6 
4 
12 
3 
1 
3 
20 
11 

310 
13 
262 

Corn,  flint  

Corn,  sweet  

Corn  meal 

Corn  cob  

Corn  and  cob  meal  

Corn  bran  

Corn  germ 

Hominy  chops. 

Germ  meal  

Dried  starch  and  sugar  feed 
Starch  feed  wet 

Maize  feed,  Chicago  

Grano-gluten  

Cream  gluten  

Gluten  meal.. 

Gluten  feed  

^Vheat,  all  analyses 

\Vheat,  spring      

Wheat,  winter.  

620 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


TABLE  I.   Average  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued,. 


Feeding  stuflfe. 

Percentage  composition. 

No.  of 

analyses.  \\ 

Water. 

Ash. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitro- 
gen-free 
extract. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

CONCENTRATES  —  con. 
Flour,  high  grade 

12.2 
12.0 
9.7 
11.9 
11.5 
12  3 

0.6 
2.0 
4.3 
5.8 
5.4 
5.9 
3.3 
4.6 
2.9 

1.9 
0.7 
3.6 
5.9 

2.4 
2.6 
3.6 
1.0 
3.6 
5.7 

3.0 
2.0 
3.7 
6.9 
6.7 

0.4 
8.1 
13.2 
10.0 
6.7 

2.0 
1.0 

2.2 
3.0 
5.1 

4.8 

2.1 
3.4 
1.5 
3.3 
5.0 

4.3 
4.7 
5.7 

5.8 

14.9 
18.0 
19.9 
15.4 
16.1 
16.0 
15.6 
14.9 
12.5 

10.6 
6.7 
14.7 
18.0 

12.4 
10.5 
12.3 
5.4 
19.9 
23.2 

11.8 
14.7 
16.0 
13.5 
3.3 

7.4 
12.0 
3.6 
12.1 
11.7 

10.0 
6.9 
4.6 
12.4 
27.1 
28.9 

9.1 
10.2 
9.9 
11.8 
9.9 

22.6 
21.6 
32.9 
33.2 

0.3 
0.9 
3.8 
9.0 
8.0 
8.1 
4.6 
7.4 
4.9 

1.7 
0.4 
3.5 
5.1 

2.7 
6.5 
7.3 
3.8 
11.0 
10.7 

9.5 
0.9 
6.1 
18.2 
29.7 

0.2 
5.4 
35.7 
9.5 
6.3 

8.7 
0.3 
43.5 
31.9 
8.3 
4.1 

2.6 
7.1 
1.4 
9.5 

7.7 

7.1 
7.3 
8.9 
9.5 

70.0 
63.3 
56.2 
53.9 
54.5 
1  53.7 
60.4 
56.8 
65.1 

72.5 
78.3 
63.8 
59.9 

69.8 
66.3 
61.8 
12.5 
51.7 
48.5 

59.7 
67.4 
59.4 
50.2 
52.1 

79.2 
51.2 
38.6 
49.9 
58.0 

64.5 

75.8 
35.3 
38.8 
40.8 
41.9 

69.8 
63.6 
74.9 
57.4 
63.2 

23.2 
27.9 
35.4 
38.4 

2.0 
3.9 
6.2 
4.0 
4.5 
4.0 
4.0 
4.5 
3.0 

1.7 

0.8 
2.8 
2.8 

1.8 
2.2 
2.8 
1.6 
5.6 
1.7 

5.0 
7.1 
7.1 

4.8 
1.0 

0.4 
13.1 
0.7 
8.8 
7.3 

2.2 
1.4 
1.1 
3.3 
7.6 
7.1 

3.6 
3.0 
3.0 
4.0 

4.7 

33.7 
30.4 
7.9 
3.0 

1 
1 
1 
88 
10 
7 
82 
12 
10 

6 
4 
T 
1 

10 

a 

2 
15 
3 
4 

30 
6 
4 
2 
1 

10 
2 
3 
5 
4 

8 
4 
2 

2 
2 
3 

10 

2 
1 

'"i 

50 
2 
21 
14 

Flour,  low  grade  

Flour,  dark  feeding  

Bran,  all  analyses  

Bran,  spring  wheat  

Middlings  

12.1 
11.8 
11.6 

11.6 
13.1 
11.6 
9.3 

10.9 
11.9 
12.2 
75.7 

8.2 
10.2 

11.0 
7.9 

7.7 
6.5 
7.3 

12.4 
10.2 

8.2 
9.7 
;10.0 

12.6 
14.6 
13.2 
10.5 
11.1 
13.2 

12.8 
11.5 
9.3 
14.0 
9.5 

9.2 
8.1 
9.2 
10.1 

Shorts  

\Vheat  screenings. 

Bye  

Bye  flour  

Bve  bran  

Bye  shorts  

Barley  

Barley  screenings 

Brewers'  grains,  wet 

Brewers'  grains,  dried. 

Malt  sprouts  

Oats  

Oat  meal  

Oat  feed   

Oat  dust  

Oat  hulls  

Bice  

Bice  meal  

Bice  hulls. 

Bice  bran  

Bice  polish  

Buckwheat  

Buckwheat  flour  

Buckwheat  hulls 

Buckwheat  bran  

Buckwheat  shorts  

Buckwheat  middlings  

Sorghum  seed  

Broom-corn  seed 

Kaffir-corn  seed      

Millet  seed  

Hungarian  grass  seed  
Flax  seed... 

Flax  seed,  ground.. 

Linseed  meal,  old  process.. 
Linseed  meal,  new  process. 

t 


Appendix. 


621 


TABLE  I.   Average  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued* 


Feeding  stuffb. 

Percentage  composition. 

No.  of 
analyses.  | 

Water 

Ash. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitro- 
gen-free 
extract 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

CONCENTR  ATES  —  COn. 

10.3 
6.1 
8.2 
11.1 

6.2 
10.3 
10.4 
8  6 
10.8 

7.5 
10.7 
10.0 

10.5 
10.8 
14.8 
11.3 

42.2 
40.5 
50.9 
30.0 

79.3 
79.0 
73.4 
79.8 
77.1 
79.1 
66.2 
76.1 

15.3 
13.2 
15.0 

14.2 

14.1 
9.9 

8.9 
8.7 
21.2 

3.5 
5.5 

7.2 
2.8 

4.7 
5.9 
4.3 
2.6 
6.7 

2.4 
4.9 
7.9 

2.6 
4.7 
3.2 
3.8 

2.7 
3.4 
1.8 
5.5 

1.2 
1.2 
1.5 
1.1 
1.1 
1.3 
2.9 
0.7 

5.5 
4.4 
4.5 

4.4 

3.9 
6.0 

5.2 
4.9 
6.3 

18.4 
16.8 
42.3 
4.2 

31.2 
19.7 
16.8 
16.3 
32.8 

27.9 
47.6 
31.2 

20.2 
34.0 

20.8 
26.6 

4.5 
3.8 
2.5 
6.0 

1.8 
1.7 
2.0 
2.0 
2.7 
1.9 
2.1 
0.5 

7.4 
5.9 
6.0 

5.7 

5.0 
8.1 

7.9 
8.0 

7.8 

23.2 
20.4 
5.6 
46.3 

3.7 
14.4 
24.0 
29.9 
13.5 

7.0 
5.1 
11.3 

14.4 

4.8 
4.1 

7.2 

14.3 
•19.7 
15.8 
21.4 

5.0 
5-6 
6.7 
4.3 
4.3 
4.4 
8.7 
7.3 

27.2 
29.0 
29.6 

28.1 

31.1 
32.4 

28.6 
29.9 
23.0 

24.7 
23.5 
23.6 
33.4 

17.6 
38.7 
35.0 
21.4 
27.1 

15.6 
23.7 
30.0 

51.1 

28.8 
55.7 
50.1 

34.7 
31.5 
28.3 
35.7 

12.2 
12.0 
15.5 
12.1 
14.6 
12.8 
19.0 
14.9 

42.1 
45.0 
41.9 

44.6 

43.7 
41.0 

47.5 
46.4 
37.8 

19.9 

27.7 
13.1 
2.2 

36.6 
11.0 
9.5 
21.2 
9.1 

39.6 
8.0 
9.6 

1.2 
16.9 
1.4 
1.0 

1.6 
1.1 
0.7 
1.4 

0.5 
0.5 
0.9 
0.7 
0.8 
0.5 
1.1 
0.5 

2.5 
2.5 
3.0 

3.0 

2.2 
2.6 

1.9 
2.1 
3.9 

& 

2 
35 

20 

2 

Cotton  seed,  roasted  

Cotton-seed  meal          

Cotton-seed  hulls    

Cotton-seed  kernels  (with- 
out hulls)  

Cocoanut  cake           

Palm-nut  meal  

600- 
2 

Sunflower  seed  

Sunflower-seed  cake  

Peanut    kernel  (without 
hulls)         

7 
2480 
500 

2 
8 
5 
1 

35 
60 
16 
17 

126 
63 
7 
40 
10 
21 
4 
4 

126 
68 
12 

11 

12 
10 

9 
3 
10 

Peanut  meal  

Rape-seed  cake...  

Pea  meal  .  .. 

Soja  bean  

Cowpea  

Horse  bean  

ROUGHAGE. 

Corn  forage,  field  cured. 
Fodder  corn  

Corn  stover  

Corn  husks  

Corn  leaves  

Corn  forage,  green. 

Fodder  corn,  all  varieties,... 
Dent  varieties  

Dent,  kernels  glazed  

Flint  varieties 

Flint,  kernels  glazed 

Sweet  varieties  

Leaves  and  husks  

Stripped  stalks  

Hay  from  grasses. 

Hay  from  mixed  grasses  
Timothy,  all  analyses  

Timothy,  cut  in  full  bloom.. 
Timothy,   cut  soon  after 
bloom  

Timothy,  cut  when  nearly 
ripe  

Orchard  grass  

Red  top,    cut  at   different 
stages  

Red  top,  cut  in  bloom  

Kentucky  blue  grass 

622 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


TABI/E  I.    Average  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Percentage  composition. 

?! 

fcg 

Water. 

Ash. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitro- 
gen-free 
extract. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

ROUGHAGE  —  continued. 
Hay  from  grasses  —  con. 
Kentucky  blue    gr&ss,   cut 
when  seed  in  mill£  

24.4 

27.8 
7.7 
20.0 
8.5 
14.0 
16.6 
12.9 
15.0 
15.0 
11.6 
10.4 
14.3 
9.3 
10.3 
10.2 

80.0 
65.1 
61.6 
73.0 
65.3 
62.2 
76.6 
79.4 
79.0 
71.1 
69.9 

73.2 
69.5 
75.0 
75.0 

15.3 

20.8 
21.2 
9.7 
9.7 
9.6 
11.0 
8.4 
10.7 
11.3 
15.0 

7.0 

6.4 
6.0 
6.8 
6.9 
7.9 
6.8 
5.5 
4.2 
5.2 
6.7 
7.7 
3.8 
5.6 
6.6 
6.1 

2.0 
2.8 
2.1 
2.0 
2.3 
2.5 
1.8 
1.1 
1.8 
1.7 
1.8 

2.5 
2.0 
1.5 
1.9 

6.2 
6.6 
6.1 

8.3 
8.3 
8.6 
8.5 
7.4 
7.5 
7.2 
6.7 

6.3 

5.8 
7.5 
7.0 
7.5 
10.1 
11.6 
10.1 
8.8 
9.3 
7.2 
5.5 
5.0 
9.9 
7.7 
7.2 

3.5 
4.1 
3.1 
2.6 
2.8 
3.4 
2.6 
1.3 
2.7 
3.1 
2.4 

3.1 
2.4 
2.1 
2.4 

12.3 
12.4 
10.7 
12.8 
15.7 
15.2 
13.8 
14.3 
16.6 
15.4 
13.7 

24.5 

23.8 
27.7 
25.9 
30.5 
25.4 
22.5 
27.6 
24.7 
29.2 
26.6 
30.0 
25.0 
30.6 
30.0 
28.5 

4.0 
9.1 
11.8 
8.2 
11.0 
11.2 
11.6 
6.1 
7.9 
9.2 
10.8 

6.8 
9.4 
7.8 
7.0 

24.8 
21.9 
24.5 
25.6 
24.1 
27.2 
24.0 
25.0 
20.1 
22.3 
24.7 

34.2 

33.2 
49.0 
38.4 
45.0 
40.5 
39.4 
41.3 
44.9 
39.0 
45.9 
44.1 
48.8 
41.1 
42.0 
45.9 

9.7 
17.6 
20.2 
13.3 
17.7 
19.3 
6.8 
11.6 
8.0 
14.2 
14.3 

13.3 
15.8 
13.1 
13.1 

38.1 
33.8 
33.6 
40.7 
39.3 
36.6 
39.0 
42.7 
42.2 
38.6 
37.6 

3.6 

3.0 
2.1 
2.7 
1.7 
2.1 
3.1 
2.6 
2.4 
2.3 
2.0 
2.4 
3.3 
3.5 
3.4 
2.1 

0.8 
1.3 
1.2 
0.9 
0.9 
1.4 
0.6 
0.5 
0.6 
0.7 
0.8 

1.3 
0.9 
0.5 
0.6 

3.3 
4.5 
3.9 

2.9 
2.9 
2.8 
3.7 
'  2.2 
2.2 
5.2 
2.3 

4 

4 
13 
9 
4 
4 
23 
17 
1 
1 
8 
10 
1 
2 
2 
2 

Kentucky  blue   grass,   cut 

Hungarian  grass 

Meadow  fescue               

Italian  rye  grass       

Perennial  rye  grass    

Rowen  (mixed)     

Mixed  grasses  and  clovers... 
Barley  hay,  cut  in  milk  
Oat  hay  cut  in  milk 

Swamp  hay 

Salt-marsh  hay         

\Vild-oat  grass             

Buttercups         

\Vhite  daisy    

Fresh  grass. 
Pasture  grass 

Kentucky  blue  grass 

18 
56 
4 
5 
6 
7 
11 
1 
14 
4 

24 
3 
12 

2 

38 
6 
10 
9 
7 
7 
2 
21 
8 
6 
1 

Timothy,  different  stages... 
Orchard  grass,  in  bloom  
Red  top,  in  bloom  

Oat  fodder.  

Rye  fodder  

Sorghum  Ibdder  

Barley  fodder 

Hungarian  grass. 

Meadow  fescue,  in  bloom  ... 
Italian   rye  grass,   coming 
into  bloom..   ..       

Tall  oat  grass,  in  bloom  

Japanese  millet  

Barnyard  millet  

Hay  from  legumes. 
Red  clover. 

Red  clover,  in  bloom  

Red  cloA'er,  mammoth  .... 

Alsike  clover  

White  clover  

Crimson  clover 

Japan  clover  

Alfalfa  

Cowpea  

Soja  bean  

Pea  vine  

Appendix. 


623 


TABLE  I.   Average  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Percentage  composition. 

c'f 

£a 

Water. 

Ash. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitro- 
gen-free 
extract. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

ROUGHAGE  —  continued. 
Hay  from  legumes  —  con. 
Vetch              

11.3 
9.2 
8.4 
7.6 
15.0 

70.8 
74.8 
80.9 
71.8 
83.6 
75.1 
79.5 
84.2 
66.7 

9.6 
7.1 
9.2 
14!2 
14.3 
14.3 
9.9 
10.1 
9.2 

79.1 
76.1 
72.0 
74.2 
85.0 
79.3 

69.8 
50.1 

79.0 
76.0 
80.8 

78.9 

88.5 
86.5 
90.9 
90.5 

88.6 

7.9 
7.2 
7.9 
10.8 
7.3 

2.1 
2.0 
1.7 
2.7 
1.7 
2.6 
3.2 
1.2 
2.9 

4.2 
3.2 
5.1 
5.7 

9.2 
10.0 
5.5 

5.8 

8.7 

1.4 
1.1 

2.6 
2.8 
0.6 
2.9 

4.5 
3.5 

2.8 
2.4 
1.6 

1.0 
1.0 
0.9 
1.1 
0.8 
1.2 

17.0 
15.2 
22.9 
10.7 
14.8 

4.4 
3.9 
3.1 

4.8 
2.4 
4.0 

2.7 
2.8 
8.7 

3.4 
3.0 
4.0 
3.5 
4.5 
4.0 
5.2 
4.6 
8.8 

1.7 

0.8 
4.2 
4.1 
1.2 
2.7 

3.8 
5.9 

2.8 
2.5 
2.4 

2.1 
1.5 
1.8 
1.4 
1.1 
1.2 

2-5.4 
21.6 
26.2 
23.6 
20.4 

8.1 
7.4 
5.2 
7.4 
4.8 
6.7 
5.4 
4.9 
7.9 

38.1 
38.9 
37.0 
36.0 
36.0 
34.0 
43.0 
40.4 
37.6 

6.0 

6.4 
8.4 
9.7 
3.3 
6.0 

9.5 
13.0 

7.2 
7.2 
5.8 

0.6 

0.9 
0.9 
0.9 
1.2 
1.3 

36.1 
44.2 
31.4 
42.7 
39.5 

13.5 
11.0 
8.4 
12.3 
7.1 
10.6 
8.6 
6.5 
12.2 

43.4 
46.6 
42.4 
39.0 
34.6 
36.2 
35.1 
37.4 
34.3 

11.0 
15.3 
11.6 
6.9 

8.8 
7.6 

11.1 

26.0 

7.2 
11.1 
9.2 

17.3 
8.0 
9.8 
5.5 
6.2 
7.5 

2.3 
2.6 
3.2 
4.6 
3.0 

1.1 
0.9 
0.7 
1.0 
0.4 
1.0 
0.7 
0.4 
1.6 

1.3 
1.2 
2.3 
1.5 
1.4 
1.5 
1.3 
1.7 
1.4 

0.8 
0.3 
1.2 
2.2 
1.1 
1.5 

1.3 
1.6 

1.0 
0.8 
0.3 

0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 

5 
3 
5 

6 

1 

43 
4 
3 
23 
10 
27 
9 
2 
2 

7 
7 
12 
97 

""3 

4 
1 

99 
6 
5 

1 
1 
2 

1 
1 

9 
4 
1 

12 
» 
19 
9 
3 
4 

Flat  pea 

Peanut  vines  (  without  nuts  ) 
•Sautoin.              

Fresh  legumes. 

Red  clover,  different  stages. 
Alsike  clover  

Crimson  clover  

Alfalfa  

Cowpea. 

Soja  bean  

Serradella  

Horse  bean  

Flat  pea  

Straw. 
Wheat  

Rye  

Oat  

Barley  

Wheat  chaff.  

Oatchaff  

Buckwheat  straw  

Soja  bean  

Horse  bean  

Silage. 
Corn  

Sorghum  

Red  clover  

Soja  bean  

Apple  pomace  

Cowpea  vine  

Cowpea  and  soja-bean  vines, 
mixed  

Field-pea  vine  

Barnyard  millet   and  soja 
bean  

Corn  and  soja  bean  

Rve... 

Hoots  and  tubers. 
Potato  

Beets,  common  

Beet,  sugar  

Beet,  mangel  

Turnip  

Ruta-baga  

624 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


TABLE  I.   Average  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

Percentage  composition. 

No.  of 
analyses.  | 

Water. 

Ash. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Crude 
fiber. 

Nitro- 
gen-free 
extract. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Hoots  and  tubers  —  con. 
Carrot  

88.6 
88.3 
79.5 
71.1 

90.5 
75.7 

88.0 
90.9 
80.8 
88.4 
84.5 
55.3 
80.8 

87.2 
74.6 
91.0 
81.3 
86.9 
80.8 
90.4 
90.6 
90.1 
93.8 

8.5 
10.7 
10.8 
89.8 
20.8 
76.7 
83.9 
93.7 

5.0 

1.0 
0.7 
1.0 
1.0 

1.4 
4.0 
2.4 
0.5 
0.9 
2.2 
2.0 
1.0 
0.4 

0.7 
1.6 
0.4 
0.8 
0.9 
1.1 
0.7 
0.7 
0.7 
0.4 

4.7 
4.1 
29.2 
0.6 
10.6 
0.5 
0.6 
0.2 

11.3 

1.1 
1.6 
2.6 
1.5 

2.4 
2.0 
2.6 
1.3 
1.8 
2.4 
2.3 
2.5 
0.7 

3.6 
17.6 
2.1 
6.3 
3.7 
6.2 
3.3 
3.1 
4.0 
0.6 

84.4 
71.2 
48.4 
0.9 
9.1 
1.4 
0.6 
1.9 

27.4 

1.3 
1.0 
0.8 
1.3 

1.5 
4.9 
2.2 
1.7 
1.8 
1.6 
2.6 
4.4 
1.2 

7.6 
10.2 
15.9 
24.7 

3.9 
12.7 
4.4 
5.2 
7.9 
5.1 
8.4 
34.8 
16.6 

4.9 
2.7 
5.3 
4.7 
4.4 
4.8 
4.7 
5.3 
4.0 
5.1 

0.4 
0.2 
0.2 
0.4 

0.4 
0.8 
0.4 
0.4 
0.8 
0.3 
0.5 
1.9 
0.4 

3.7 
3.6 
1.2 
6.8 
4.1 
7.1 
0.9 
0.3 
1.1 
0.1 

2.5 
13.7 
11.6 

8 

Parsnip  

Artichoke  

2 

6 

2 
1 

Sweet  potato  

MISCELLANEOUS. 
Cabbage... 

Spurry  

Sugar-beet  leaves  ..   .  . 

Pumpkin  (field)  

Pumpkin  (garden)  • 

Prickly  comfrey  

41 

2 

"'a 

793 
42 

Rape  

Acorns,  fresh  

Apples  ... 

Cow's  milk  

Cow's  milk  colostrum 

Mare's  milK 

Ewe's  milk  





Goat's  milk 

Sow's  milk 

7 
96 

7 
85 
46 

3 
144 
6 
16 
35 
7 
2 
1 

1 

Skim  milk,  gravity....  
Skim  milk  centrifugal 

Buttermilk  

Whey 

Dried  blood 

Meat  scrap 

0.3 

Dried  fish 

Beet  pulp.       .   . 

2.4 

6.3 
59.5 
16.2 
11.7* 
2.8 

36.1 

Beet  molasses.  

Apple  pomace  

3.9 
3.2 
0.6 

8.0 

1.3 

Sorghum  bBgasse 

Distillery  slops  

0.9 
12.3 

Dried  sediment  from  distil- 
lery slops 

Includes  fat 


Appendix. 


625 


TABLE  II.     AVERAGE  DIGESTIBILITY  OF  AMERICAN  FEEDING- 
STUFFS,  WITH  ADDITIONS  FROM  THE  GERMAN  TABLES. 

The  data  of  this  table  are  mainly  from  digestion  trials  con- 
ducted by  American  Experiment  Stations,  as  compiled  by  Lindsey 
in  the  report  of  the  Massachusetts  (Hatch)  Experiment  Station 
for  1896.  Coefficients  from  this  source  are  marked  "M"  in  the 
last  column  of  the  table.  To  render  the  table  more  complete, 
additions  have  been  made  from  the  German  tables.  Those  marked 
"  L"  are  from  Mentzel  &  Lengerke's  Landw.  Kalender  for  1898. 
Those  marked  "  K  "  are  from  Zusammensetzung  der  Futtermittel, 
Dietrich  and  Konig. 

A.  Experiments  with  Ruminants. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

OQ 

"3 
£ 

^ 
& 

Dry  matter. 

Protein. 

Crude  fiber. 

Nitrogen-free 
extract. 

Ether  ex- 
tract. 

Authority. 

CONCENTRATES. 
Dent  corn  

19 

Per 

cent. 

91 

Per 

cent. 

76 

Per 
cent. 

58 

Per 

cent. 

93 

Per 

cent. 

86 

K 

Corn  meal 

5 

88 

60 

93 

92 

M 

Corn  cob 

2 

59 

17 

65 

60 

50 

M 

Corn  and  cob  meal  

3 

79 

52 

45 

88 

84 

M 

Glu  ten  meal  

8 

87 

88 

88 

93 

M 

Gluten  meal  (Chicago) 

9 

88 

89 

93 

93 

M 

Gluten  meal  (King's). 

2 

81 

91 

79 

94 

M 

Gluten  feed  

8 

84 

85 

72 

87 

83 

M 

Gluten  feed  (Buffalo)  

4 

83 

86 

66 

84 

87 

M 

Gluten  feed  (Pope's). 

9 

87 

86 

77 

90 

81 

M 

Gluten  feed  (Peoria)  

fl 

86 

83 

78 

90 

79 

M, 

Gluten  feed  (Atlas)  

2 

80 

73 

84 

91 

M, 

Maize  feed  (Chicago)  

2 

84 

84 

72 

85 

90 

M 

Cream  gluten  (Pope's)      

?! 

93 

84 

88 

98 

M 

Wheat  bran  ,.  

11 

61 

79 

22 

69 

68  * 

M, 

Wheat  bran,  spring  wheat  
Wheat  bran,  winter  wheat  
Wheat  middlings  

2 
3 

4 

63 
62 
79 

80 

77 
82 

24 
27 
36 

70 
65 

85 

76 
64 

85 

M. 
M. 

M 

Rye  meal  

2 

87 

84 

92 

64 

M, 

Barley  

4 

86 

70 

50 

92 

89 

jj 

Malt  sprouts  

1 

67 

80 

34 

69 

100 

M 

Brewers'  grains,  wet  

19 

63 

73 

40 

62 

86 

Ti, 

Brewers'  grains,  dried 

2 

62 

79 

53 

59 

91 

M 

Oats  

89 

70 

78 

20 

76 

83 

L 

19 

75 

63 

26 

86 

85 

T, 

Flax  seed  

7 

77 

91 

61 

55 

86 

L 

Linseed  meal,  old  process.  
Linseed  meal,  new  process  

3 

3 

79 

80 

89 

85 

57 
74 

78 
84 

89 
93 

M. 
M. 

40 


626 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


TABLE  II.   Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

No.  of  trials. 

Dry  matter. 

jj 

Crude  fiber. 

1 

CD** 

fce^ 

SH 

fc° 

Ether  ex- 
tract. 

Authority. 

CONCENTRATES  —  continued. 
Cotton  seed  

2 

Per 

cent.. 

66 

Per 

cent. 

68 

Per 

cent. 

76 

Per 

cent. 

50 

Per 

cent. 

87 

M 

Cotton  seed  roasted 

9 

66 

47 

66 

51 

72 

M 

Cotton-seed  meal 

6 

76 

88 

32 

64 

93 

M 

Cotton-seed  hulls         

18 

41 

6 

47 

34 

79 

M 

Cotton-seed    hulls,  when    led 
with  cotton-seed  meal 

3 

41 

38 

49 

78 

M 

Cotton-seed   hulls,   when    fed 
with  cotton-seed  meal 

11 

45 

46 

51 

76 

M 

Cotton-seed  feed    (hulls    and 
meal  ) 

R 

46 

45 

37 

50 

82 

M 

Cotton-seed  feed    (hulls     and 
meal).           ..*  

11 

55 

62 

46 

54 

85 

M 

Pea  meal   

2 

87 

83 

26 

94 

55 

M 

Soj  a-hean  meal  

10 

79 

87 

73 

85 

M 

Peanut  feed 

9, 

32 

71 

12 

49 

90 

ROUGHAGE. 

Fodder  corn,  field-cured. 

Dent  and  flint  varieties,  aver- 
age 

W 

68 

55 

65 

73 

74 

M 

Dent  mature                   ...    . 

14 

66 

48 

57 

72 

76 

M 

Dent  in  milk    i 

11 

63 

50 

64 

66 

75 

M 

Dent,    immature,    B.    &    W. 
(  coarse  )  

4 

57 

27 

59 

61 

76 

M 

Dent,  immature,  no  ears  formed 
Flint  mature 

8 
9 

65 
71 

62 
65 

71 

76 

64 
73 

66 
70 

M. 
M 

Flint  ears  just  forming 

8 

70 

70 

72 

71 

67 

M 

Sweet,  mature        

6 

67 

64 

74 

68 

74 

M 

Corn  stover,  field-cured. 
Corn  stover  all  varieties 

8 

60 

45 

67 

61 

62 

M 

Corn*  stover 

4 

62 

52 

67 

64 

52 

M 

Corn  stover,  shredded,  fed  dry. 
Corn  stover,  shredded,  fed  wet. 
Corn  stover,  tops  and  blades  ... 
Corn  stover,  leaves  

2 
2 
2 
2 

57 

60 
60 
56 

40   • 
36 
55 
56 

65 
70 
71 
61 

56 
59 
62 
59 

72 
74 
71 
63 

M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 

Corn  stover,  stalk  below  ear.... 
Corn  stover,  stalk  above  ear  
Corn  stover,  husks  

2 
2 
2 

67 
55 

72 

21 
22 
30 

74 
71 
80 

69 
54 

80 
64 
33 

M. 
M, 

Corn  stover,  leaves  below  ear... 
Corn  forage,  green. 

Dent  fodder  corn,  average  glaz- 
ino*  and  mature  

2 
18 

65 
66 

35 
53 

78 
52 

68 
74 

56 
76 

M. 
M, 

Dent  fodder  corn,  mature  
Dent  fodder  corn,  glazing  
Dent  fodder  corn  in  milk. 

4 
9 
9 

65 

67 
70 

51 
54 
61 

55 

51 
64 

72 
75 
76 

73 

78 
78 

M. 
M. 
M 

Dent  fodder  corn,  immature  ... 

11 

68 

66 

67 

71 

68 

M. 

Appendix.  627 

TABLE  II.  Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

1 
o 

1 

Dry  matter. 

Protein. 

Crude  fiber. 

1 

CD" 

Ether  ex- 
tract. 

Authority. 

ROUGHAGE  —  continued. 
Corn  for  age,  green  —  continued 

Dent  fodder  corn,  glazing,  B. 
&  W  (coarse) 

2 

Per 

cent. 

52 

Per 

cent. 

24 

Per 
cent. 

46 

Per 
cent. 

59 

Per 
cent. 

78 

M 

Sweet  fodder  corn,  roasting  ear 
statre 

6 

72 

62 

60 

77 

79 

M 

Sweet  fodder  corn,  in  milk  

2 

77 

77 

75 

81 

74 

M. 

Hay  from  grasses. 

Meadow  hay,  rich  in  protein... 
Meadow  hay,  medium  in  pro- 
tein   

48 
94 

67 
61 

66 
57 

63 
60 

68 
64 

57 
53 

L. 
Ti. 

Meadow  hay,  poor  in  protein.. 
Timothy  all  trials  

28 

56 
57 

50 
48 

56 
52 

59 
63 

49 
57 

L. 
M 

Timothy,  cut  in  bloom  

5 

60 

56 

58 

63 

57 

M 

Timothy,  cut  soon  after  bloom 
Orchard  grass 

10 
3 

53 

56 

45 
60 

47 
61 

60 
55 

53 
55 

M. 
M 

Redtop..         

60 

61 

61 

62 

51 

M 

Hungarian    

2 

65 

60 

68 

67 

64 

M 

Mixed,  rich  in  protein  

ftO 

58 

58 

60 

59 

48 

M, 

Mixed  medium  in  protein 

2 

40 

49 

58 

50 

M 

Rowen  average. 

8 

65 

68 

66 

64 

47 

M 

Dried  pasture  grass    

1 

71 

72 

77 

73 

60 

M 

Barlev  hay  

4 

59 

65 

62 

63 

41 

M. 

Oats  and  vetch 

2 

58 

60 

66 

54 

]9 

M 

Timothy  and    clover,    poorly 
cured  

2 

55 

38 

53 

60 

58 

M 

Blue-joint  grass  (  Calamagros- 
tis  Canadensw}  in  bloom  
Blue-joint  grass,  past  bloom.... 
Wild-oat    grass    (Danthonica 
spicata) 

2 
1 

3 

69 
40 

64 

70 
57 

58 

72 
37 

68 

69 
43 

65 

52 
37 

50 

M. 
M. 

M, 

Cats-tail    millet    (  Pennesetum 
spicatum)  

2 

62 

6S 

67 

59 

46 

M 

Johnson  grass  

1 

55 

45 

58 

54 

39 

M 

Witch  (quack)  grass  (  THticum 
repens)  

4 

61 

58 

62 

66 

57 

M 

Sorghum  fodder  (leaves). 

2 

63 

61 

70 

65 

47 

M 

Sorghum  bagasse  (stalks  after 
juice  is  removed)  

1 

61 

14 

64 

65 

46 

M, 

Swamp  hay  

39 

34 

33 

46 

44 

M 

Salt  hav  of  black  grass  (  Juncui 
Gerardi).  . 

2 

60 

63 

60 

56 

41 

M 

Low  meadow  fox  grass  (  &par- 
tinajuncea)  

o 

53 

57 

51 

52 

24 

M 

High-grown  salt  hay  (largely 
tipartina  juncea  ) 

2 

53 

63 

50 

53 

47 

M 

Branch  grass  (Npartina  juncec 
with  tfpartina  stricta,  var. 
glabra  )  

2 

56 

62 

52 

54 

31 

M 

628 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


TABLE  II.  Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

No.  of  trials. 

Dry  matter. 

Protein. 

Crude  fiber. 

Nitrogen-free 
extract. 

Ether  ex- 
tract. 

Authority. 

ROUGHAGE  —  continued. 
Hay  from  grasses  —  continued. 

Buttercups  (Ranunculus  aeris] 
White  weed  (Ox    eye   daisy) 
(Leucanthemum  vulgar  e)  

Straw  and  chaff. 
Wheat  straw  

2 
2 

7 

Per 

cent. 

56 

58 

43 

Per 
cent. 

56 
58 

11 

Per 
cent. 

41 
46 

52 

Per 

cent. 

67 
67 

38 

Per 
cent. 

70 
62 

31 

M. 
M. 

L 

Rye  straw  

q 

46 

2t 

60 

37 

32 

It 

Oat  straw  

19 

48 

30 

54 

44 

33 

Ti, 

Barley  straw  

5 

53 

20 

56 

54 

42 

I, 

Soja-bean  straw  

4 

55 

50 

38 

66 

60 

T, 

Oat  chaff  

2 

42 

38 

45 

49 

48 

T, 

Wheat  chaff  

?! 

26 

6 

37 

29 

34 

T, 

Grasses,  green. 
Pasture  grasses,  mixed  

4 

71 

70 

76 

73 

63 

M 

Timothy  

ft 

58 

50 

52 

64 

47 

T, 

Orchard  grass,  in  bloom  

1 

56 

59 

51 

54 

51 

T, 

Oat  fodder,  in  bloom  

?, 

64 

75 

60 

63 

70 

M 

Rye,  formation  of  heads  

9, 

74 

79 

80 

71 

74 

M 

Sorghum,  average 

4 

67 

46 

59 

74 

74 

M 

Barley,  in  bloom  

4 

67 

72 

61 

71 

60 

M 

Hungarian  grass,  early  to  late 
bloom  

8 

63 

63 

70 

67 

62 

M 

Barley  and  peas,  full  bloom  
Oats  and  peas,  bloom(?)  

2 
2 

60 
68 

77 
81 

43 
57 

61 
66 

60 

74 

M. 
M 

Rowen  grass,  mostly  timothy, 
two-thirds  grown  

ft 

66 

72 

64 

68 

52 

M 

Hay  from  legumes. 
Red  clover,  in  bloom..  

46 

61 

62 

49 

69 

62 

T, 

Red   clover,    late  bloom,  fair 
quality  

9, 

55 

55 

46 

64 

53 

M 

Red  clover,  good  quality  
Alsike  

2 
8 

52 
62 

49 
66 

48 
53 

58 
71 

43 
50 

M. 
M 

White  

1 

66 

73 

61 

70 

51 

M 

Crimson  

9 

62 

69 

45 

62 

44 

M 

Alfalfa  

93 

60 

74 

43 

66 

39 

T, 

Alfalfa,  late  bloom  

2 

77 

49 

64 

54 

M 

Alfalfa,  stage  not  given  

1 

69 

43 

72 

48 

M. 

Cowpea-vine,  fair  quality  
Soja-bean  

2 
2 

59 
62 

65 
71 

43 
61 

71 
69 

50 

29 

M. 
M 

Vetch  

6 

65 

76 

54 

66 

60 

T, 

Serradella,  in  bloom  

3 

62 

75 

50 

63 

65 

T,, 

Peanut  vines 

^ 

60 

63 

52 

70 

66 

M 

Sanfoin  

^ 

62 

70 

36 

74 

66 

T, 

Appendix.  629 

TABLE  II.  Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuflfa. 

No.  of  trials. 

Dry  matter. 

Protein. 

I 

9 
•tf 

s| 
SP! 

Is 

Ether  ex- 
tract. 

Authority. 

ROUGHAGE  —  continued. 
Legumes,  green. 
Bed  clover,  late  bloom  

ft 

Per 
cent. 

66 

Per 

cent. 

67 

Per 
cent. 

53 

Per 
cent. 

78 

Per 
cent. 

65 

M 

Rowen,  late  bloom  

2 

61 

62 

52 

65 

61 

M 

Crimson  clover,  late  bloom.  
Alfalfa  

3 
2 

69 
67 

77 
81 

56 
45 

74 

76 

66 
52 

M. 
T, 

Cowpea,  ready  for  soiling.  
Soja  Dean,  before  bloom  

2 
9, 

76 
66 

74 
79 

57 
50 

84 

72 

59 
54 

M. 

M 

Soja  bean,  seed  half  grown  
Canada  peas,  just  before  bloom 

Silage. 

Dent  corn,  grain  milk  stage  to 
mature  

2 
2 

17 

62 
71 

64 

69 
82 

52 

41 
62 

62 

73 
71 

69 

54 
52 

85 

M. 
M. 

M 

Dent  corn,  immature  

13 

64 

54 

70 

66 

71 

M 

Dent  corn,  stage  uncertain  

4 

60 

24 

56 

68 

70 

M 

Dent  corn,  fine  crushed  (steers) 
Dent  corn,  fine  crushed  (sheep) 
Dent  corn,  uncooked,  ears  ma- 
ture   

2 
2 

1 

64 
54 

38 
22 

45 

75 
64 

59 

65 
55 

71 

76 
68 

86 

M. 
M. 

M 

Dent  corn,  cooked,  ears  mature 

1 

39 

70 

75 

87 

M 

Flint,  ears  glazing  

11 

75 

65 

77 

79 

82 

M 

Sweet,  some  ears  matured..   . 

2 

68 

54 

71 

72 

83 

M 

Soja  bean  

4 

55 

66 

49 

57 

61 

M 

Cowpea  vine  

4 

60 

57 

52 

72 

63 

M 

Barnyard  millet  and  soja  bean 
Corn  and  soja  bean  

4 
3 

59 
69 

57 
65 

69 
65 

59 
75 

72 
82 

M. 
M 

Roots  and  tubers. 
Potato  

ft3 

85 

61 

90 

I, 

Potato  

3 

77 

44 

91 

M 

Beet,  mangel  

18 

88 

77 

96 

L 

Beet,  mangel  

9, 

79 

75 

43 

91 

M 

Sugar  beet  

ft8 

89 

62 

95 

L 

Sugar  beet  

2 

95 

91 

100 

100 

50 

M 

Turnip,  flat  

9, 

93 

90 

100 

97 

98 

M 

Ruta-baga  

ft 

87 

80 

74 

95 

84 

M 

MISCELLANEOUS. 
Cow's  milk  

5 

98 

94 

98 

100 

L 

Acorns,  fresh  

ft 

88 

83 

62 

91 

88 

jj 

Dried  blood  

2 

63 

62 

100 

100 

T. 

Meat  scrap  

5 

93 

93 

98 

jj 

Fish  guano  

ft 

90 

76 

L. 

Beet  pulp  

82 

63 

83 

84 

T. 

630 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


TABLE  II.  Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 
B.  Experiments  with  Pigs. 


Feeding  stuffs. 

No.  of  trials. 

Dry  matter. 

Protein. 

Crude  fiber. 

Nitrogen-free 
extract. 

Ether  ex- 
tract. 

i 
Authority. 

Corn  meal         . 

4 

Per 
cent. 

92 

Per 
cent. 

86 

Per 
cent. 

40 

Per 

cent. 

95 

Per 

cent. 

76 

T, 

Corn  meal 

2 

90 

88 

39 

94 

80 

M 

Corn  kernels,  whole    

1 

83 

69 

38 

89 

46 

M 

Corn  and  cob  meal  

1 

76 

76 

29 

84 

82 

M 

Pea  meal  

1 

90 

89 

78 

95 

50 

M  ; 

Barley  meal 

8 

82 

76 

15 

90 

65 

T, 

Barley  meal 

1 

80 

81 

49 

87 

57 

M 

Wheat  whole 

J 

:72 

70 

30 

74 

60 

M 

\Vheat,  cracked.        ..  ....... 

9 

82 

80 

60 

83 

70 

M 

\Vheat  shorts  

2 

77 

73 

37 

87 

M  ' 

^Wheat  bran  

9, 

61 

75 

34 

66 

72 

M 

Rye  bran  

9, 

67 

66 

9 

75 

58 

T, 

Potato 

8 

93 

73 

55 

98 

T, 

Potato 

4 

97 

84 

98 

M 

Dried  blood 

1 

72 

72 

92 

T, 

Flesh  meal      ... 

8 

92 

97 

87 

T, 

8our  milk       

1 

95 

96 

99 

95 

T, 

Appendix. 


031 


TABLE  III.     AVERAGE  DIGESTIBLE  NUTRIENTS  AND  FERTIL- 
IZING  CONSTITUENTS  IN  AMERICAN  FEEDING   STUFFS. 

The  data  of  this  table  for  the  digestible  nutrients  are  derived 
tinly  from  the  two  preceding  tables.  In  other  cases  they  are 
Bulletin  22,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  TJ.  S.  Depart- 
it  of  Agriculture,  Washington;  Handbook  for  Farmers  and 
Dairymen,  Woll;  Farm  Foods,  Wolff  (English  edition,  Cousins), 
and  ZusammensjAing  der  Futtermittel,  Dietrich  and  Konig. 

The  fertilizkj^ptonstituents  are  principally  from  the  Year  Book 
for  1895,  TJ.^yn^epartme^t  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  with 
additions  from  Wolff,  DietEch  and  Konig,  and  Bulletin  87,  New 
Jersey  Experiment  Statiorf 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients 
jg  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

^r 

tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Pot- 
ash. 

CONCENTRATES. 
Corn,  all  analyses  

Lbs. 

89.1 
89.4 
88.7 
91.2 
89.3 
84.9 
90.9 
91.8 
89.6 
91.8 
94.3 
88.9 
1)1.9 
93.2 
34.6 

89.5 
87.6 
87.6 
90.3 
88.1 
88?6 
87.7 
88.2 
87.9 
88.4 

88.4 
88.4 
90.7 

89.1 
89.8 

% 

r.5 

8.0 
8.8 
0.4 
4.4 
7.4 
25.8 
9.0 
11.4 
26.7 
7.5 
30.3 
18.7 
5.5 

10.2 
8.9 
8.2 
13.5 
12.2 
12.9 
12.3 
12.2 
12.8 
9.8 

9.9 
11.5 
11.9 

8.7 
18.6 

Lbs. 

66.7 
66.7 
66.2 
63.7 
52.5 
60.0 
5918 

38^8 
55.2 
35.3 
51.7 
21.7 

69.2 
62.4 
62.7 
61.3 
39.2 
40.1 
37.1 
50.0 
53.0 
51.0 

67.6 
50.3 
45.1 

65.6 
37.1 

Lbs. 

4.3 
4.3 
4.3 
7.0 
0.3 
2.9 
4.6 
11.0 
6.2 
6.5 
12.4 
6.8 
14.5 
8.7 
2.3 

1.7 
0.9 
0.9 
2.0 
2.7 
3.4 
2.6 
3.8 
3.4 
2.2 

1.1 

2.0 
1.6 

1.6 
1.7 

Lbs. 

18.2 
16.5 
16.8 
18.6 
5.0 
14.1 
16.3 
50.3 
26.5 
22.4 
49.8 
16.3 
57.7 
36.3 
9.8 

23.6 
18.9 
28.9 
31.8 
26.7 

Lbs, 
7.0 

Lbs. 
4.0 

Dent  corn  

Flint  corn 

Sweet  corn         .... 

Corn  cob  

.6 
5.7 
12.1 
3.3 
8.0 
7.0 
5.1 
9.8 

6.0 
4.7 
6.8 
0.5 
5.0 
5.2 
1.5 
4.9 

Corn  and  cob  meal 

Corn  bran 

Gluten  meal  

Germ  meal  

Starch  refuse 

Grano-gluten  

Hominy  chops  

Glucose  meal 

Sugar  meal      .... 

4.1 
1.0 

7.9 
2.2 
5.6 
21.4 
28.9 

0.3 
1.0 

5.0 
1.5 
3.5 
10.9 
16.1 

Starch  feed,  wet  

Wheat  

High-grade  flour  

Low-grade  flour  

Dark  feeding  flour 

AVheat  bran  

Wheat  bran,  spring  wheat 
Wheat  bran,  winter  wheat 
Wheat  shorts  

28.2 
26.3 
24.4 

17.6 
23.2 
18.4 

15.1 
35.5 

13.5 
9.5 
11.7 

8.2 
22.8 
12.6 

7.9 
14.3 

5.9 
6.3 

8.4 

5.4 
14.0 

8.1 

4.8 
16.3 

Wheat  middlings  

\Vheat  screenings 

Bye  

Rye  bran  

Bye  shorts  

Barley  

Malt  sprouts..., 

632 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


TABLE  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents  —  con. 


Name  of  feed. 

CONCENTRATES  —  continued. 
Brewers'  grains  wet 

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Lbs. 

24.3 
91.8 

89.0 
92.1 
92.3 
93.5 
90.6 

87.6 
91.8. 
90.  A 
90.1 

87!3 

87.2 
85.9 
84.8 
86.0 

90.8 
90.8 
89.9 
89.7 
91.8 
88.9 
89.7 
89.6 
92.5 
91.8 
89.3 
90.0 

89.5 
89.2 
85.2 
85.7 

20.7 
57.8 
59.5 

Digestible  nutrients^ 
in  100  pounds. 

NHUlizing  const  it  si- 
enTW^^pOO  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Lbs. 

3.9 
15.7 

9.2 
11.  5j 
12.51 

8.91 
1.3* 

8 

5.3 

9.0 

7.7 
2.1  | 
7.4 
21.1 
22.0 

7.0 
7.4 

7.8 
8.9 

20.6 
29.3 
28.2 
12.5 
37.2 
0.3 
15.6 
16.0 
12.1 
31.2 
42.9 
25.2 

16.8 
29.6 
18.3 
22.4 

1.0 
2.5 
1.7 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Lbs. 

9.3 
36.3 

47.3 
k52.1 
1*6.9 

fcs.4 

W'1 

72.2 
44.5 
45.1 
56.4 

49.2 
27.9 
30.4 
33.5 
33.4 

52.1 

48.3 
57.1 
45.0 

17.1 

32.7 
40.1 
30.0 
16.9 
33.1 
38.3 
52.6 
20.8 
19.6 
22.8 
23.7 

51.8 
22  3 
54.2 
49.3 

11.6 
34.6 
32.4 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Lbs. 
1.4 

5.S 
2.8  ] 
5.1 
0.6 

0.3 
0.6 
7.3 
6.5 

1.8 
0.6 
1.9 
5.5 
5.4 

3.1 

2.9 
2.7 
3.2 

29.0 
7.0 
2.8 
17.3 
12.2 
1.7 
10.5 
9.0 
29.0 
12.8 
6.9 
7.5 

0.7 
14.4 
1.1 
1.2 

0.4 
1.2 
0.7 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Lbs. 

.8.9 
36.2 

1 

l! 

5.2 

10.8 
5.8 
7.1 
19.7 

14.4 
4.9 
36.4 

Phosfc 
phoric 
acid. 

Lbs. 

3.1 
10.3 

8.2 

Pot- 

0.9 
6.2 

Brewers'  grains  dried. 

Oats  

Oatmeal       

Oat  feed  or  shorts  

9.1 

5.3 

Oat  dust  

Oat  hulls  

2.4 

1.8 
1.7 
2.9 
26.7 

4.4 

0.7 
17.8 

5.2 

0.9 
1.4 
2.4 
7.1 

2.1 
5.2 

12.8 

Rice  

Bice  hulls 

Bice  bran  

Bice  polish     

Buckwheat     

Buckwheat  hulls  

Buckwheat  bran  

Buckwheat  shorts  

Buckwheat  middlings 

42.8 

14.8 
16.3 

21.9 
8.1 

11.4 
4.2 

Sorghum  seed  

Broom-corn  seed    

Kaffir  corn  

Millet  

20.4 

36.1 
54.3 

57.8 
31.3 
67.9 
6.9 
32.8 
26.9 
22.8 
55.5 
75.6 
49.6 

30.8 
53.0 
33.3 
40.7 

4.1 
17.6 
10.4 

8.5 

13.9 
16.6 
18.3 
12.7 
28.8 
2.5 
16.0 
11.0 
12.2 
21.5 
13.1 
20.0 

8.2 
18.7 

3.6 

10.3 
13.7 
13.9 
11.7 
8.7 
10.2 
24.0 
5.0 
5.6 
11.7 
15.0 
13.0 

9.9 
19.9 

Flax  seed  

Linseed  meal,  old  process.. 
Linseed  meal,  new  process. 
Cottonseed  

Cotton-seed  meal 

Cotton-seed  hulls         

Cocoanutmeal  

Palm-nut  meal  

Sunflower  seed  

Sunflower-seed  cakes 

Peanut  meal 

B«ape-seed  meal  

Peas  

Soja  (soy)  bean  

Cowpea  

Horse  bean 

12.0 

1.5 
5.4 
2.9 

12.9 

3.3 

8.9 
14.0 

ROUGHAGE. 
Fodder  corn. 
Fodder  corn,  green  

Fodder  corn,  field-cured... 
Corn  stover,  field-cured.... 

Appendix. 


633 


TABLE  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents  —  con. 


4  ^ame  of  feed. 

A  

^ROUGH  AGE  —  continued. 
fresh  grass. 

Pasture  grasses  (m^ed)  ... 
Kentucky  blue  grj^V.  

Dry 

matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Lbs. 

20.0 
34.9 
«4 
[) 
1 

20.6 
30.1 
28.9 
21.0 
16.0 
16.0 

86.8 
90.1 
91.1 

78.8 
92.3 
87.1 
83.4 
80.0 
88.7 
91.1 
88.4 
92.1 
85.0 

90.4 
92.9 
90.8 
65.8 
85.7 
85.7 

29.2 
25.2 
19.1 
28.2 
16.4 
24.9 

84.7 
78.8 
90.3 
90.3 
90.4 

Digestible  nutrients 
in  100  pounds. 

Fertilizing  constitu- 
ents in  1,000  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Lbs. 

2.5 
3.0 
1.2 
1.5 
2.1 
2.6 
2.1 
0.6 
1.5 

1! 

2.tf 

if 

4.8 
4.5 
5.9 
7.9 
4.2 
10.8 
4.3 
2.4 
3.5 
3.8 

0.4 
0.6 
1.2 
0.7 
0.3 
1.5 

2.9 
2.7 
2.4 
3.9 
1.8 
3.2 

6.8 
5.7 
8.4 
11.5 
10.5 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates. 

Lbs. 

10.2 
19.8 
19.1 
11.4 
21.2 
18.9 
14.1 
12.2 
16.8 
16.0 
10.2 
7.1 
7.2 

43.4 
42.3 
46.9 
37.3 
51.7 
40.9 
40.1 
43  13 
38V 
46M 
29  1 
44.7 
40.7 

36.3 
40.6 
38.6 
41.2 
23.3 
33.0 

14.8 
13.1 
9.1 
12.7 

8.7 
11.0 

35.8 
32.0 
42.5 
42.2 
34.9 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Lbs. 

0.5 
0.8 
0.6 
0.5 
0.6 
1.0 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.2 
0.2 

1.4 
1.4 
1.0 
2.0 
1.3 
1.2 
1.5 
1.7 
1.5 
1.5 
0.9 
0.7 
1.2 

0.4 
0.4 
0.8 
0.6 
0.5 
0.7 

0.7 
0.6 
0.5 
0.5 
0.2 
0.5 

1.7 
1.9 
1.5 
1.5 
1.2 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Lbs. 
9.1 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Lbs. 
2.3 

Pot- 
ash. 

Lbs. 
7.5 

Timothy'  diffe^jBfctges.  .. 
Orchard  grass,  flTffoom.  .  .  . 
Redtop,  inblo^B.  
Oat  fodder  
live  fodder  

4.8 
4.3 

2.6 
1.6 

7.6 
7.6 

4.9 
3.3 
2.3 

1.3 
1.5 
0.9 

3.8 
7.3 
2.3 

Sorghum  

Meadow  fescue,  in  bloom.. 
Hunsrarian  grass 

3.9 

1.6 

5.5 

Peas  and  oats      

Hay. 
Timothy  

12.6 
13.1 
11.5 
11.9 
12.0 
14.1 
16.1 
9.9 
23.2 

5.3 
4.1 
3.6 
4.0 
3.5 
2.7 
4.3 
4.0 
6.7 

9.0 
18.8 
10.2 
15.7 
13.0 
15.5 
14.9 
21.0 
10.8 

Orchard  grass       

Redtop          

K.entuckv  blue  grass 

Hungarian  orass 

Mixed  grasses.         

Rowen  (mixed)  

Meadow  fescue  

Soja-bean  hay 

Oat  hay 

Marsh  or  swamp  hay  

Marsh  or  swamp  hay  

White  daisy  

Straw. 
"Wheat  

5.9 
4.6 
6.2 
13.1 
7.9 

1.2 

2.8 
2.0 
3.0 
7.0 

5.1 

7.9 
12.4 
20.9 

4.2 

Rye  ... 

Oat. 

Barley  

Wheat  chaff.  

Oat  chaff  

Fresh  legumes. 

Red  clover,  different  stages 
Alsike  bloom  

5.3 
4.4 
4.3 
7.2 
2.7 
2.9 

20.7 
22.3 
23.4 
27.5 
20.5 

1.3 
1.1 
1.3 
1.3 
1.0 
1.5 

3.8 
5.5 
6.7 
5.2 
4.0 

4.6 
2.0 
4.9 
5.6 
3.1 
5.3 

22.0 
12.2 
22.3 
18.1 
13.1 

Crimson  clover  

Alfalfa  

Cowpea. 

Soja  bean  

Legume  hay  and  straw. 
Red  clover,  medium  

Red  clover,  mammoth  
Alsike  clover     

White  clover  

Crimson  clover 

634 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


TABLE  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  Constituents —  con. 


Name  of  feed. 

Dry 
matter 
in  100 
pounds. 

Digestible  nutrients  IW^^i  zing  const  itu- 
in  100  pounds.           enTM^LOOO  pounds. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates 

Lbs. 

39.6 
38.6 
40.0 
32.3 

11.3 

Ether 
ex- 
tract. 

Lbs. 
1.2 

i* 

0.7 
1.0 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Lbs. 
21.9 

r 

2.8 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Lbs. 

5.1 
5.2 
4.0 
3.5 

1.1 

Pot- 

aij.1  1  . 

^F' 

16.  a 

14.7 
13.2 
10.2 

3.7 

ROUGHAGE  —  continued. 
Legume  hay  and  straw  —  con. 

Alfalfa  

Lbs. 

91.6 

89.3 
89.9 
86.4 

20.9 

28  0 

Lbs. 

11.0 

10.8 
2.3 
4.3 

0.9 
2.0 

Cowpea 

Soja-beaii  straw. 

Pea-  vine  straw  

Silage. 
Corn 

Clover                       ..  .. 

Sorghum   

23.9 
27.5 
32.0 

20.7 
25.8 

21.0 
24.fi 

21.1 
13.0 
13.5 
9.1 
9.5 
11.4 
11.4 
11.7 
20.0 

15.3 
20.0 
*2.0 
9.1 
19.2 
11.6 
14.0 
44.7 

91  5 

0.6 
3.0 
1.9 
1.5 
2.7 

1.6 
1.6 

0.9 
1.2 
1.1 
1.1 
1.0 
1.0 
0.8 
1.6 
2.0 

1.8 
1.5 
1.7 
1.0 
1.4 
1.4 
1.5 
2.1 

52.3 
66.2 
44.1 
0.6 
9.1 

3.6 
17.6 
3.1 
2.9 
3.9 
0.8 

14.9 
8.5 
13.4 

8.6 
8.7 

9.2 
13.0 

16.3 

8.8 
10.2 
5.4 
7.2 
8.1 
7.8 
11.2 
16.8 

8.2 
9.8 
4.6 
5.8 
8.3 
4.6 
8.1 
34.4 

.0 
.3 
.0 
7.3 
59.5 

4.9 
2.7 
4.7 
5.2 
4.0 
4.7 

0.2 
1.9 
1.6 
0.9 
1.3 

0.7 
0.7 

0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 

0  4 

Alfalfa  

Grass  

Cowpea  vine 

Soja  bean 

Barn-yard  millet  and  soja 
bean  

Corn  and  soja  bean  

Roots  and  tubers. 
Potato 

3.2 
2.4 
2.2 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.5 
1.8 
2.6 

3.8 

1.2 
0.9 
1.0 
0.9 
1.0 
1.2 
0.9 
2.0 
1.4 

1.1 

4.6 
4.4 
4.8- 
3.8 
3.9- 
4.9- 
5.1 
4.4 
4.7 

4.:} 

Beet,  common 

Beet,  sugar    

Beet,  mangel  

Flat  turnip  

Ruta-baga  

Carrot 

Parsnip.           

Artichoke  

MISCELLANEOUS. 
Cabbage 

Spurry 

0.3 
0.2 
0.3 
0.8 
0.2 
0.2 
1.7 

2.5 
13.7 
10.3 

3.8 
4.1 

2.5 
1.5 

5.9 
6.2 

Sugar-beet  leaves  

Pumpkin,  field  

Pumpkin,  garden  

1.1 
4.2 
4.5 

1.6 
1.1 
1.5 

7if> 
3.6 

Prickly  comfrey 

Rape  . 

Acorns,  fresh 

Dried  blood 

35.0 
13.9 
77.5 
1.4 
14.6 

5.3 

28.2 
5.6 
5.6 
4.8 
1.5 

13.5 
7.0 
20.0 
0.2 
0.5 

1.9 
6.6 
2.0 
2.0 
1.7 
1.4 

7.T 
1.0 
2.o 

0^4 
56.3 

1.8 
1.1 

1.9 
1.6 
1.8 

Meat  scrap  
Dried  fish           

89.3 
89.2 
10.2 
79.2 

12.8 
25.4 
9.6 
9.4 
9.9 
6.6 

Beet  pulp  

Beet  molasses...  

.0 

3.7 
3.6 
0.8 
0.3 
1.1 
0.3 

Cow's  milk..                

Cow's  milk,  colostrum  
Skim  milk  gravity 

Skim  milk,  centrifugal  .... 
Buttermilk  

W  hey  

Appendix.  635 

TABLE  IV.    FEEDING  STANDARDS  FOR  FARM  ANIMALS. 

The  table  of  feeding  standards  here  presented  is  taken  from 
Mentzel  &  Lengerke's  Landw.  Kalender  for  1898.  It  comprises 
the  standards  originally  prepared  by  Dr.  Emil  v.  Wolff  for  that 
publication,  modified  by  Dr.  C.  Lehmann.  The  standards  hav- 
ing been  described  at  length  in  Chapter  VII  of  this  work,  little 
remains  to  be  added  for  the  guidance  of  the  student  in  their  use. 

The  standards  are  arranged  to  meet  the  requirements  of  farm 
animals  under  normal  conditions.  The  student  should  not  ac- 
cept the  statements  in  the  standards  as  absolute,  but  rather  as 
data  of  a  helpful  nature,  to  be  varied  in  practice  as  circumstances 
suggest. 

The  statements  in  the  column  headed  "Dry  Matter "  should 
be  regarded  as  approximate  only,  since  the  digestive  tract  of  the 
animal  readily  adapts  itself  to  variations  of  10  per  cent,  or  more 
from  the  standard  of  volume. 

The  column  headed  "Sum  of  Nutrients"  combines  the  data  of 
the  three  preceding  columns,  the  ether  extract  being  multiplied 
by  2.4  before  adding.  In  the  first  column  of  this  division  of  the 
table,  marked  "Crude  Fiber— 1,"  all  the  digestible  nutrients  are 
included.  In  the  second  division,  marked  "Crude  Fiber =J,"  it 
is  assumed  that  30  per  cent,  of  the  digestible  non-nitrogenous 
nutrients  consists  of  crude  fiber,  and  one-half  of  this,  or  15  per 
cent.,  is  deducted.  This  deduction  should  be  made  in  the  case 
of  rations  containing  much  coarse  forage. 

The  standards  are  for  animals  of  normal  size.  Those  of  small 
breeds  will  require  somewhat  more  nutrients,  amounting  in  some 
cases  to  .3  of  a  pound  of  nitrogenous  and  1.5  pounds  of  non- 
nitrogenous  digestible  nutrients  daily  for  1,000  pounds  of  live 
weight  of  animals. 

Narrowing  the  nutritive  ratio  in  feeding  full-grown  animals  is 
for  the  purpose  of  lessening  the  depression  of  digestibility,  (51) 
to  enliven  the  temperament,  or  to  increase  the  production  of  milk 
at  the  expense  of  laying  on  fat. 

The  different  standards  given  for  the  same  class  of  animals 
according  to  performance  illustrate  the  manner  and  direction  in 
which  desirable  changes  should  be  made. 


636 


Feeds  and  Feeding. 


In  considering  the  fattening  standards  the  student  should  bear 
in  mind  that  the  most  rapid  fattening  is  usually  the  most  econom- 
ical, so  that  the  standards  given  may  often  be  profitably  increased. 

Standards  for  milch  cows  are  given  for  the  middle  of  the  lacta- 
tion period  with  animals  yielding  milk  of  average  composition. 

The  standards  for  growing  animals  contemplate  only  a  mod- 
erate amount  of  exercise;  if  much  is  taken,  add  15  per  cent. — 
mostly  non-nitrogenous  nutrients  —  to  the  ration.  If  no  exercise 
is  taken,  deduct  15  per  cent,  from  the  standard. 


Animal. 

Per  day  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight. 

1 
I 

Digestible  nutrients. 

d 

I 

!l 

8* 

|| 
3* 

H® 

Sum  of 
nutrients. 

1 

Crud 
=1 

B  fiber 
=X 

1.  Oxen. 
At  rest  in  stall  

Lbs 

18 
22 
25 
28 

30 
30 
26 

25 

27 
29 
32 

20 
23 

25 

30 

28 

20 
24 
26 

22 

Lbs. 

0.7 
1.4 

2.0 

2.8 

2.5 

3.0 

2.7 

1.6 
2.0 
2.5 
3.3 

1.2 
1.5 

2.9 

3.0 
3.5 

1.5 
2.0 
2.5 

2.5 

Lbs. 

8.0 
10.0 
11.5 
13.0 

15.0 
14.5 
15.0 

10.0 
11.0 
13.0 
13.0 

10.5 
12.0 

15.0 

15.0 
14.5 

9.5 
11.0 
13.3 

15.5 

Lbs. 

0.1 
0.3 
0.5 
0.8 

0.5 
0.7 
0.7 

0.3 
0.4 
0.5 
0.8. 

0.2 
0.3 

0.5 

0.5 
0.6 

0.4 
0.6 
0.8 

0.4 

Lbs. 

8.9 
12.1 
14.7 
17.7 

18.7 
19.2 
19.4 

12.3 
14.0 
16.7 
18.2 

12.2 
14.2 

19.1 

19.2 
19.4 

12.0 
14.5 
17.7 

IS 

Lbs. 

7.5 

9.7 
12.0 
15.0 

15.6 
17.0 
17.2 

10.2 
12.2 
14.4 
16.0 

10.0 
12.0 

16.3 

16.5 
16.9 

10.0 
12.8 
15.5 

.0 

11.8 
7.7 
6.5 
5.3 

6.5 
5.4 

6.2 

6.7 
6.0 
5.7 
4.5 

9.1 

8.5 

5.6 

5.4 
4.6 

7.0 
6.2 
6.0 

6.6 

At  light  work  

At  medium  work. 

At  heavy  work  

£  .  fattening  cattle. 
First  period  

Second  period    .       

Third  period  

£.  Milch  cows. 

When  yielding  daily  — 
11  0  pounds  of  milk 

16.6  pounds  of  milk  .... 

22  0  pounds  of  inilk  

27.5  pounds  of  irnlk  

4.  Sheep. 
Coarse  wool  

Fine  wool  

5.  Breeding  ewes. 
With  lambs  

6.  Fattening  sheep. 
First  period  

Second  period  

7.  Horses. 
Light  work  

Medium  work  

Heavy  work. 

&  jBrood  sows  

Appendix. 


637 


TABLE  IV.    Feeding  standards  for  farm  animals  —  continued. 


Animal* 

Per  day  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight. 

I 

b 
« 

Digestible  nutrients. 

d 

2 

2 

£ 

^  . 
]| 

•gg 
£3 

g 

w 

5* 
g« 

Sum  of 

nutrients. 

2* 

~0 

Crud 
=1 

3  fiber 
=Y* 

£3 

I8 

9.  fattening  swine. 

Lbs 

36 
32 
25 

23 
24 

27 
26 
26 

23 
24 
25 
24 
24 

25 
25 
23 
22 

22 

26 
26 
24 
23 

22 

44 

35 
32 
28 
25 

44 
35 
33 
30 

26 

Lbs. 

4.5 
4.0 
2.7 

4.0 
3.0 
2.0 
1.8 
1.5 

4.2 
3.5 
2.5 
2.0 
1.8 

3.4 

2.8 
2.1 
1.8 
1.5 

4.4 
3.5 
3.0 
2.2 
2.0 

7.6 
5.0 
3.7 
2.8 
2.1 

7.6 
5.0 
4.3 
3.6 
3.0 

Lbs. 

25.0 
24.0 
18.0 

13.0 
12.8 
12.5 
12  5 
12.0 

13.0 

12.8 
13.2 
12.5 
12.0 

15.4 
13.8 
11.5 
11.2 
10.8 

15.5 
15.0 
14.3 
12.6 
12.0 

28.0 
23.1 
21.3 
18.7 
15.3 

28.0 
23.1 
22.3 

20.5 
18.3 

Lbs. 

0.7 
0.5 
0.4 

2.0 
1.0 

0.5 
0.4 
0.3 

2.0 
1.5 
0.7 
0.5 
0.4 

0.7 
0.6 
0.5 
0.4 
0.3 

0.9 
0.7 
0.5 
0.5 
0.4 

1.0 
0.8 
0.4 
0.3 
0.2 

1.0 
0.8 
0.6 
0.4 
0.3 

Lbs. 

3 

21 
2 

21.8 
18.2 
15.7 
15.3 
14.2 

20.0 
19.9 
17.4 
15.7 
14.8 

20.5 
18.0 
14.8 
14.0 
13.0 

22.1 
20.2 
18.5 
16.0 
15.0 

38 

30 
26 
22 
17 

38 
30 
28 
25 
22 

Lbs. 

.2 

).2 
2.0 

21.0 
17.0 
13.7 
12.8 
11.8 

21.5 
19.0 
15.8 
13.9 
13.2 

18.4 
15.8 
12.8 
12.0 
11.0 

20.9 
17.8 
16.3 
13  8 
12.8 

.0 
.0 
.0 
.2 
.9 

.0 
.0 
.0 
.1 
.0 

5.9 
6.3 
7.0 

4.5 
5.1 
6.8 
7.5 
8.5 

4.2 
4.7 
6.0 
6.8 
7.2 

5.0 
5.4 
6.0 
7.0 

7.7 

4.0 
4.8 
5.2 
6.3 
6.5 

4.0 
5.0 
6.0 
7.0 
7.5 

4.0 
5.0 
5.5 
6.0 
6.4 

Third  period.          

to.  Growing  cattle. 

Dairy  breeds. 
Age  in                    Av.  live  wt. 
months.                 per  head,  Ibs. 
2-  3  150  
3-  6  300  
6-12  500  
12-18  700  

18-24  900  
11.  Growing  cattle. 
Beef  breeds. 
2-  3  160  
3-  6  330  
6-12  550  
12-18  750  
18-24  950  
12.  Growing  sheep. 
Wool  breeds. 
4r-  6  60   ... 

6-  8  75  

8-11  80  

11-15  90 

15-20  100  
13.  Growing  sheep. 
Mutton  breeds. 
4-  6  60  

6-  8  80  

8-11  100  

11-15  120  
15-20  150  

14»  Growing  swine. 
Breeding  stock. 
2-  3  50 

3-  5  ..100  
5-  6  120  
6-  8  200  
8-12  250  
15.  Growing,  fattening  swine. 
2-  3  50  
3-  5  100  
5-  6  150  
6-  8  200  
9-12  300  

GLOSSARY. 

Technical  terms  which  may  not  have  been  explained  in  the  body  of  the 
book  are  here  defined.  The  botanical  names  of  a  number  of  agricult- 
ural plants  are  also  given  to  aid  the  reader  who  might  otherwise  be  un- 
certain which  species  or  variety  is  meant. 

Abomasum.    The 'fourth  stomach  of  ruminants.  (28) 

Ad  libitum.  At  pleasure.  In  case  of  feeding  farm  animals,  all  they  will 
eat  of  any  particular  feeding  stuff. 

Albuminoids.  The  more  complex  forms  of  protein.  They  are  usually  in- 
soluble in  water  or  may  be  rendered  so  by  heat.  (10)  See  Protein. 

Alfalfa.    Medicago  sativa. 

Aliment.    Food,  nutriment. 

Alimentary  tract  or  canal.  The  duct  comprising  the  stomach,  intestines, 
etc.,  by  which  food  (aliment)  is  conveyed  through  the  body,  and 
the  useless  parts  evacuated.  (32) 

Alsike  clover.     Trifolium  hybridum. 

Amides.  Protein  compounds  simpler  than  the  albuminoids,  which  are 
capable  of  transference  in  the  plant,  or  such  as  have  been  reduced 
to  their  present  form  from  the  albuminoids.  (71)  See  Protein. 

Artichoke.    Helianthus  tuberosus. 

Ash.  The  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff  which  remains  after  it  has  been 
burned. 

Assimilate.  The  conversion  of  digested  nutrients  into  the  fluid  or  solid 
substances  of  the  body. 

Balanced  ration.  A  combination  of  farm  foods  containing  the  various 
nutrients  in  such  proportion  and  amount  as  will  nurture  the  ani- 
mal for  twenty-four  hours,  with  the  least  waste  of  nutrients. 

Barnyard  millet.    Panicum  cms-galli.      k 

Bolus.  A  rounded  mass;  the  portion  of  the  food  ready  to  be  swallowed 
at  one  time. 

Burr  clover.    Medicago  maculata. 

Calorie.  The  amount  of  heat  required  to  raise  the  temperature  of  one 
kilogram  of  water  one  degree  Centigrade  (or  one  pound  of  water 
four  degrees  Fahrenheit).  (61) 

Carbhydrates.    See  Carbohydrates. 

Carbohydrates.  A  group  of  nutrients  rich  in  protein  and  containing 
oxygen  and  hydrogen  in  the  proportion  in  which  they  form  water. 
The  carbohydrates  do  not  contain  nitrogen. 


Glossary.  639 

Carnivorous.    A  term  applied  to  animals  that  feed  chiefly  on  flesh. 
Casein.    The  protein  substance  of  milk  which  is  coagulated  by  rennet  or 

acids. 

Castor  oil  bean.    The  seed  of  Riclnus  communis. 
Cathartic.    A  medicine  that  acts  as  a  purge. 
Cellulose.    The  cell  tissue  of  plants.    The  lint  of  cotton  and  wood  pulp 

are  almost  pure  cellulose.     See  Crude  fiber. 
Chyle.    A  milky  fluid  found  in  the  lacteals,  consisting  of  digested  but 

unassimilated  nutrients  in  solution,  and  the  digested  fatty  matter 

of  the  food  in  a  state  of  emulsion.  (35) 

Concentrates.    The  more  nutritious  portion  of  the  rations  of  farm  ani- 
mals, embracing  such  feeding  stuffs  as  corn,  oil  meal,  etc. 
Corn.    See  Indian  corn. 
Corn  fodder,  or  fodder  corn.    Stalks  of  corn,  either  green  or  dried,  which 

are  grown  for  forage  and  from  which  the  ears  or  nubbins,  if  they 

carry  any,  have  not  been  removed. 
Corn  stover.    See  Stover. 
Cowpea.    Dolichos  katiang,  var.  sinensis. 
Crimson  clover.     Trifolium  incarnatum. 
Crude  fiber.    The  framework  forming  the  walls  of  the  cells  of  plants.    It 

is  composed  of  cellulose  and  lignin,  ^he  latter  being  the  more 

woody  portion.  (20) 
Crude  protein.    See  Protein. 
Diastase.    The  ferment  found  in  seeds  while  germinating,  especially  in 

malting  barley,  by  aid  of  which  starch  is  converted  into  glucose. 
Digestible  matter.    The  part  of  feeding  stuffs  brought  into  solution  or 

semi-solution  by  the  digestive  fluids. 
Digestible  nutrients.    The  portion  of  any  food  constituent  that  is  digested 

by  animals. 
Digestion    coefficient.    The  percentage  of  any  particular  nutrient  of  a 

feeding  stuff  which  is  found  to  be  digestible. 
Digestive  tract.    See  Alimentary  tract. 
Dry  matter.    The  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff  remaining  after  the  water  or 

moisture  contained  therein  has  been  driven  off'  by  heat. 
Emulsion.    A  milk-like  mixture  of  a  liquid  and  a  solid,  or  of  two  liquids 

in  which  one  of  the  constituents,  generally  fat  or  oil,  is  present  in 

suspension  in  an  exceedingly  fine  mechanical  condition. 
Ensilage.    As  a  noun,  the  forage  preserved  in  a  silo;  now  usually  termed 

silage,  which  see.    As  a  verb,  to  place  in  a  silo. 
Ergot.    A  parasitic  fungus  of  poisonous  qualities  found  on  some  of  the 

cereals  and  grasses.  (283) 
Ether  extract.    That  which  is  dissolved  from  a  water-free  feeding  stuff 

by  means  of  ether.    It  is  often  termed   "fat"  by  agricultural 

writers.  (21) 


640  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

Excrement.  The  indigestible  or  refuse  matter  of  farm  foods  voided  by 
animals. 

Fertilizing  constituents.  The  nitrogen  and  mineral  components  of  feed- 
ing stuffs.  Generally  the  term  applies  only  to  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid  and  potash,  since  these  are  most  apt  to  be  lacking  in 
the  soil  or  present  in  insufficient  quantities. 

Reid  pea.    Pisum  arvense. 

Fodder  corn.    See  Corn  fodder. 

Foot-ton.  The  work  performed  in  raising  a  weight  of  one  ton  to  a  height 
of  one  foot. 

Glucose,  fruit  sugar.  The  form  of  sugar  found  in  fruits,  honey,  etc.;  alsa 
in  the  alimentary  canal.  It  can  be  obtained  by  treating  starch  or 
cane  sugar  (sucrose)  with  dilute  mineral  acids. 

Glycogen.    A  carbohydrate  resembling  starch,  found  in  the  liver. 

Grain  equivalent.  The  term  used  to  designate  the  comparative  value  of 
grain  and  less  concentrated  feeding  stuffs,  such  as  milk,  whey, 
roots,  etc. 

Gram.    A  metric  weight.    453.6  grams  equal  one  pound  avoirdupois. 

Hairy  vetch.     Vicia  vittosa. 

Herbivorous.    A  term  applied  to  animals  that  subsist  on  vegetable  foods- 

Herd's  grass.    See  Timothy. 

Hungarian  grass,  German  millet.    Set  aria  italica,  var.  germanica. 

Ibid.    In  the  same  place;  preceding  reference. 

Indian  corn,  or  maize.    Zea  mays. 

Intestine.    The  lower  part  of  the  alimentary  canal.  (32) 

Japan  clover.    Lespedeza  striata. 

Japanese  millet.    Setaria  italica,  vars. 

June  grass.    See  Kentucky  blue  grass. 

Kaffir  corn.    Sorghum  vulgare. 

Kentucky  blue  grass,  or  June  grass.    Poa  pratensis. 

Kilogram.    A  metric  weight  equal  to  2.2-f-  pounds. 

Lacteals.  Minute  tubes  which  take  the  chyle  from  the  alimentary  canal 
and  convey  it  to  the  thoracic  duct.  See  Lymphatics. 

Legumes.  Plants  belonging  to  the  botanical  family  Leguminosse.  Ex- 
amples: red  clover,  peas,  beans. 

Levulose.  Invert  sugar,  obtained  with  dextrose  or  grape  sugar  when 
cane  sugar  is  heated  with  dilute  mineral  acids. 

Liter.    A  metric  measure  of  capacity  equaling  1.05-f-  quarts. 

Loc.  cit.    In  the  place  referred  to;  preceding  reference. 

Lucern.    See  Alfalfa. 

Lymph.    The  colorless  fluid  found  in  the  lymphatics  of  the  animal  body. 

Lymphatics.    The  vein-like  vessels  that  convey  lymph.  (37) 

Lymphatic  system.  The  system  of  lymph  vessels  which  collect  and  con- 
vey the  lymph.  (37) 


Glossary.  641 

Maintenance  ration.    An  allowance  of  food  sufficient  to  maintain  a  rest- 
ing "  nimal  —  neither  gaining  nor  losing  in  weight. 
Mammoth  clover.     Trifolium  medium. 
Mangel,  mangel-wurzel.    Beta  vulgaris. 
Masticate.    To  crush  or  grind  food  with  the  teeth.  (34) 
Meadow  fescue.    Festuca  pratensis. 

Metabolism.    The  process  by  which,  on  the  one  hand,  the  digested  food 
is  built  up  into  living  matter,  and  on  the  other,  the  living  matter 
is  broken  down  into  simpler  products  within  a  cell  or  organism. 
Meter.    A  metric  unit  of  length  equaling  3.28  feet. 
Millet,  common.    Panicum  miliaceum. 

Millo  maize.    Sorghum  vulgare  or  Andropogon  sorghum,  var. 

Mineral  matter.   .See  Ash.  (18) 

Nitrogen-free  extract.  The  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff  remaining  when  the 
moisture,  ether  extract  and  crude  fiber  are  deducted;  it  includes 
starch,  sugar,  gums,  etc.  (22) 

Nitrogenous  substance.  Any  food  substance  containing  nitrogen.  See 
Protein. 

Nutrient.  Any  food  constituent  or  group  of  food  constituents  capable  of 
nourishing  animals.  Sugar,  carbohydrates  and  protein  are  nu- 
trients. 

Nutritive  ratio.  The  proportion  of  digestible  protein  to  digestible  carbo- 
hydrates and  ether  extract  in  a  ration,  the  percentage  of  ether 
extract  being  multiplied  by  2.4  and  added  to  the  carbohydrates. 

OH  meal.  As  understood  by  American  farmers,  this  term  applies  only  to 
linseed  oil  cake  reduced  to  meal  by  grinding.  (200) 

Omasum.    The  third  stomach  of  ruminants.  (28) 

Omniverous.  Eating  or  living  upon  annual  or  vegetable  food  indiscrim- 
inately. 

Orchard  grass.    Dactylis  glomerata. 

Organic  matter.  The  part  of  a  feeding  stuff  which  is  destroyed  by  burn- 
ing. 

Parsnip.    Pastinaca  saliva. 

Pepsin.    The  digestive  ferment  found  in  the  stomach  of  animals.  (27) 

Period  of  gestation.  The  length  of  tune  of  carrying  the  young;  from 
conception  to  birth. 

Period  of  lactation.  The  time  during  which  the  animal  suckles  her 
young;  with  dairy  cows,  the  period  from  calving  to  drying  off. 

Prickly  comfrey.    Symphytum  asperrimum. 

Protein.  A  term  used  to  characterize  the  constituents  of  feeding  stuffs 
which  contain  nitrogen.  The  organic  part  of  the  bones,  muscles, 
tendons,  internal  organs,  skin,  etc.,  of  the  animal  body  are  formed 
from  the  protein  nutrients  of  feeding  stuffs.  Wheat  gluten  and 
white  of  egg  are  examples  of  protein.  On  the  average,  16  per  cent. 
41 


642  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

of  protein  compounds  is  nitrogen,  the  other  elements  being  the 
same  as  in  carbohj^drates  and  fat.  The  protein  compounds 
in  feeding  stuffs  can  be  divided  into  albuminoids  and  amides, 
which  see.  The  terms  "  nitrogenous  compound  "  and  u  nitrogenous 
substance"  have  the  same  meaning  as  protein. 

Protoplasm.    The  jelly-like  or  granular  substance  of  living  plant-cells.  ( 5 ) 

Provender.    Forage,  grain,  or  feed  of  any  kind. 

Ptyalin.    The  ferment  contained  in  the  saliva.  (25) 

Pumpkin.     Cucurbita  pepo. 

Rape.    JBrassica  napus. 

Ration.  The  allowance  of  provender  given  to  an  animal  during  twenty- 
four  hours. 

Red  clover.     Trifolium  pratense. 

Redtop.    Agrostis  vulgar  is. 

Rennet.  The  ferment  found  in  the  lining  of  the  rennet  stomach  of  young 
mammals.  (27) 

Respiration  apparatus.  An  apparatus  for  determining  the  waste  matter 
thrown  off  by  the  lungs  of  an  animal.  (54,  55) 

Reticulum,  or  honey  comb.    The  second  stomach  of  ruminants.  (28) 

Roughage.  The  coarse  portion  of  a  ration,  including  such  feeding  stuffs 
as  hay,  corn  fodder,  silage,  roots,  etc.  See  Concentrates. 

Rumen,  or  paunch.    The  first  stomach  of  ruminants.  (28) 

Ruminant.    An  animal  that  chews  the  cud. 

Ruta-baga,  Swedish  turnip,  Swedes.    Brassica  campestris,  var. 

Saliva.  The  secretion  of  the  salivary  glands  of  the  mouth,  the  office  of 
which  is  to  moisten  the  food  and  through  its  ferment,  ptyalin, 
partially  digest  the  starchy  components  of  the  food.  (25) 

Scarlet  or  crimson  clover.     Trifolium  incarnatum. 

Silage.    A  succulent  forage  preserved  in  the  silo. 

Silo.  An  air-tight  structure  used  for  the  preservation  of  forage  in  a  suc- 
culent condition. 

Soiling.  The  system  of  feeding  farm  animals  in  a  barn  or  enclosure  with 
fresh  grass  or  green  fodders,  as  corn,  rye,  oats,  etc. 

Soja  bean,  or  soy  bean.    Soja  hispida. 

Sorghum.    Sorghum  vulgare,  var.  saccharatum. 

Spurry.    Spergula  arvensis. 

Stover.    The  dry  stalks  of  corn  from  which  the  ears  have  been  removed. 

Succulent  feed.    Feed  containing  much  water,  as  grass,  silage,  roots. 

Swedish  clover.    See  Alsike  clover. 

Teosinte.    Euchlaena  luxurians. 

Timothy,  or  Herd's  grass.    Phleum  pratense. 

Villi.  Minute  hair-like  projections  on  the  inside  of  the  intestines,  through 
which  the  larger  portion  of  the  digested  nutrients  is  absorbed.  (35) 

White  clover.     Trifolium  rcpens. 


INDEX. 


The  references  are  to  pages. 


Abomasum,  16. 

Absorption,  20. 

Acorn,  219. 

Age,  effect  of  011  gain  of  steers,  367. 

Age  of  cow,  effect  of  on  productivity  of 

feed,  406. 
Albuminoids,  6. 
Alfalfa  or  lucern,  203. 

compared  with  corn,  204. 

for  pasture,  208. 

in  eastern  United  States,  207. 

Iowa  experience  with,  201. 

losses  in  hay  making,  206. 

manner  of  growth,  207. 

yield  of,  203. 

Alfalfa  crop,  nutrients  in,  205. 
Alfalfa  hay,  208. 

damage  from  rain,  206. 

fattening  Western  sheep  on,  508. 

for  sheep,  505. 

and  grain  for  fattening  sheep,  532. 
Alsike  clover,  201. 
American  Fat  Stock  Show,  slaughter  tests, 

380. 

American  ration  for  dairy  cows,  114. 
Amides,  7. 

influence  on  protein  consumption,  48. 
Animal  body,  dry  substance  in,  72. 

fat  in,  72. 

influence  of  feed  on,  78. 

nitrogenous  substance  in,  72. 

water  in,  72. 

Animal  carcass,  modification  by  roots,  214. 
Animal  nutrition,  40. 
Artichoke,  214. 

for  horses,  307. 

for  pigs,  571. 
Artificial  digestion,  31. 

trials,  238. 
Ash,  7,  10. 

retained  and  voided  by  farm  animals, 

265. 
Ashes,  for  pigs  fed  on  corn,  86. 

for  swine,  614. 
Asparagin,  a  nutrient,  48. 

influence  on  protein  consumption,  48. 
Balanced  ration,  for  steers,  357. 
Ball-leeding  show  pigs,  613. 
Barley,  characteristics  of,  133. 

fertilizing  constituents  of,  138. 

for  cows,  474. 

for  horses,  293. 

for  swine,  562,  610. 


Barley  vs.  centrifugal  skim  milk  for  pigs, 
586. 

vs.  Indian  corn  for  pigs,  591. 

vs.  rye  for  pigs,  588. 

Barley  and  its  by-products  in  brewing,  188. 
Barley  and  peas,  191. 
Barrows  vs.  sows  in  swine  feeding,  602. 
Beef,  feeding  for,  338. 

production,  cotton  seed  for,  361. 

making,  at  the  South,  361. 
value  of  breed  in,  372. 

returns  per  acre  of  corn,  381. 

see  Steer  feeding. 

Beef  and  dairy  cows  compared,  405. 
Beet  molasses,  224. 

potash  in,  225. 
Beet  pulp,  means  of  utilizing,  223. 

silage  from,  223. 
Beets  of  different  sugar  content  vs.  grain 

for  pigs,  595. 

Beets  and  silage,  relative  cost,  252. 
Beets,  see  Roots. 
Bile,  17. 
Blood,  the,  22. 

plasma,  composition  of,  22. 

venous,  composition  of,  22. 

dried,  feeding  pigs  on,  78. 

for  sheep,  511. 

Blood  bread  vs.  grain  for  pigs,  597. 
Body  fat,  source  of,  50. 
Body  heat  not  a  measure  of  the  energy  of 

food,  67. 

Body  tissues,  formation  of,  40. 
Body  waste,  the,  41. 

Bone  and  muscle  development,  limits,  616. 
Bone  meal  for  corn-fed  pigs,  86. 
Bones,  strength  of  pig's,  83. 
Bran  for  sheep,  499,  523. 

for  steers,  383. 

for  swine,  610. 

vs.  oats  for  horses,  295. 
Bran  and  shorts  vs.  bran  for  horses,  295. 

see  Wheat  bran. 

Breed,  value  of,  in  beef  making,  372. 
Breed  tests  with  pigs,  543,  603. 

with  cows,  455. 

with  steers,  373,375. 

with  sheep,  487-89. 
Brewers'  grains,  136. 

for  cows,  474. 

dried,  137. 

for  horses,  293. 

wet,  137. 


644 


Index. 


Brood  sow,  feed  for,  601. 

importance  of  exercise  for,  605. 
Broom-corn  seed,  147. 
Buckwheat,  for  pigs,  566. 

wild,  for  sheep,  500. 
Buckwheat  grain,  144. 
Buckwheat  and  its  by-products,  144. 

fertilizing  constituents  of,  145. 
Bull,  feed  and  care  of,  467. 
Burr  clover,  203. 
Butter,  effect  of  cotton  seed  on  quality  of, 

156. 

Butter  fat,  effect  of  feed  on  composition  of, 
442. 

see  Fat  and  Milk  fat. 
Buttermilk,  228. 

for  pigs,  574. 
Cabbage,  216. 
Cactus,  217. 
Calf,  composition  of,  71. 

rearing,  331,  338. 

dairy,  rearing,  339. 

see  Calves. 
Calorie,  38. 
Calorimeter,  37. 
Calorimetry,  37. 
Calves,  birth  weight  of,  334. 

cod  liver  oil  for,  337. 

cotton-seed  meal  for,  157. 

fall,  342. 

flax  seed  for,  337. 

feed  and  care  after  weaning,  341. 

gravity  vs.  separator  skim  milk,  836. 

hay  tea  for,  341. 

oleomargarine  for,  337. 

separator  skim  milk  for,  335. 

skim  milk  fed,  gain  from,  333. 

skim  rnilk  for,  335. 

sugar  for,  337. 

veal,  feeding,  343. 

wet  chaffed  hay  for,  243. 

whey  for,  337,  340. 

withholding  coarse  food  from,  95. 

whole  milk  for,  334. 
Calving,  influence  of  time  from,  on  milk 

flow,  407. 
Cane  sugar,  5. 

molasses,  225. 

Carbohydrate  nutrition,  25. 
Carbohydrates,  influence  on  protein  con- 
sumption, 44. 

potential  energy  of,  38. 

source  of  fat,  51. 
Carbohydrates  and  fat,  effects  of,  48. 

value  of,  59. 

Carbonic  acid,  excretion  of,  66. 
Carcass,  modifications  of,  84. 

of  farm  animals,  nitrogen  and  ash,  77. 
Carriage  horse,  feeding  of,  322. 
Carrots,  212. 

for  horses,  307. 

vs.  mangels  for  pigs,  596. 
Castor  oil  seed  in  linseed  meal,  153. 
Cattle,  dressed  weight  of,  379. 


Cattle,  fattening,  feed  and  management* 
381. 

range,  fattening,  397. 

see  Steer. 
Cellulose,  5. 

Cereals,  as  forage  plants,  191. 
Chaff,  239. 

Chaffing,  advantages  of,  240. 
Charcoal,  for  pigs,  615. 

cob,  how  to  make,  615. 
Chewing  hay,  work  perforrr  ed  in,  29. 
Chewing  oats,  work  performed  in,  29. 
Christmas-lamb  raising,  529. 
Chyle,  20. 

composition  of,  21. 
Circulatory  system,  the,  21. 
Clover,  red,  196. 

mammoth,  201. 

alsike,  201. 

crimson  or  scarlet,  202. 

Japan,  203. 

burr,  203. 

proper  time  for  cutting,  198. 
Clover  plant,  development  of  nutrients,  197* 
Clover  hay,  for  cows,  476. 

for  horses,  303. 

for  sheep,  506. 

for  swine,  611. 

losses  in  curing,  199. 

making,  methods  of,  198. 

spontaneous  combustion  of,  200. 

use  of,  200. 

with  meal  for  pigs,  577. 
Coarse  and  concentrated  feeds,  digestion 

of,  31. 

Coarse  fodders,  digestibility  of,  29. 
Coarse   forage,  withholding   from    rumi- 
nants, 94. 
Cocoanut  meal,  159. 

for  horses,  301. 
Cod  liver  oil  for  calves,  337. 
Coefficients  of  digestibility,  98. 
Colon,  18. 
Colostrum,  228. 
Colt,  feeding  after  weaning,  316. 

protein  feeds  vs.  oats  for,  300. 

rations  for,  331. 

see  Foal. 

Columbian  Exposition,  dairy  tests,  448* 
Commercial  fertilizers,  267. 
Composition  of  feeding  stuffs,  97. 
Concentrated  feeds  for  dairy  cows,  413* 
Concentrates,  97. 
Condimental  foods,  229. 

notes  concerning,  229. 

not  recommended,  230. 
Confinement,  of  fattening  steers,  364. 

vs.  exposure,  for  sheep,  492. 
Cooked  feed,  value  of,  235. 

function  of,  239. 

for  cows,  432. 

for  horses,  238. 

for  swine,  236,  545. 

experiments  with,  for  swine,  515^ 


Index. 


645 


Corn,  119. 

a  carbonaceous  food,  120. 

alone  and  in  combination,for  sheep,  509 

amount  passing  through  steer,  349. 

as  human  food,  121. 

beef  returns  per  acre,  381. 

composition  of,  125. 

composition  of  the  several  parts  of,  124. 

dry  vs.  soaked,  for  sheep,  498. 

for  cows,  472. 

for  fattening  cattle,  381. 

for  horses,  297. 

adverse  report,  299. 
Kloepfer's  conclusions,  300. 
for  sheep,  497,  522. 
for    steers,   plain    feeding  of,   recom 

mended,  881. 
for  swine,  608. 

gain  from  a  bushel  of,  with  pigs,  581. 
nitrogen  and  mineral  matter  in,  125. 
preparation  of,  for  feeding,  383. 
races  of,  120. 
soaked,  for  steers,  346. 
time  required  to  pass  through  steer, 

349. 

vs.  oil  cake  for  pigs,  588. 
vs.  rye  or  barley  for  pigs,  591. 
whole  vs.  corn  and  cob  meal  for  cows, 

413. 

waste  in  feeding  to  cows,  413. 
Corn  and  blue-grass  pasture  for  pigs,  577. 
Corn  and  its  by-products,  119. 
Corn  and  cob,  weight  of,  122. 
Corn  and  cob  meal,  121. 
for  pigs,  557. 
for  steers,  348. 
Corn  by-products,  123. 

for  cows,  473. 

Corn  belt,  fattening  sheep  in,  531. 
Corn  cob,  121. 

Corn  cob  and  husks,  for  steers,  349. 
Corn  cob  charcoal,  for  swine,  615. 
Corn  crop,  nutrients  of,  167. 

importance  of  maturity,  168. 

increase  of  nutrients  during  maturity, 

165. 

influence  of  thickness  of  planting,  164. 
losses  in  field-curing,  171. 
Corn  fodder,  fertilizing  constituents  of,  177. 
pulling  of,  174. 
see  Fodder  corn. 

Corn  forage,  cutting  and  shredding,  240. 
shock,  feeding,  172. 
shocking,  172. 
stocking,  172. 

Corn-fed  pigs,  strengthening  bones  of,  86. 
Corn  meal  for  cows,  473. 
only,  for  cows,  94. 
only,  for  pigs,  78,  86. 
vs.  corn  for  pigs,  556. 
see  Corn. 

Corn  plant,  changes  in  protein,  167. 
distribution  of  nutrients  in,  169. 
in  Georgia,  170. 


Corn  plant,  increase  of  nutrients  during 

maturity,  165. 

nitrogen-free  extract  in,  168. 
nutrients  at  different  stages,  166. 
southern,  time  to  cut  for  silage,  254. 

vs.  northern,  for  silage,  253. 
under  Maryland  conditions,  170. 
Corn  product,  a  new,  175. 
Corn  silage,  see  Silage  corn. 
Corn  smut,  175. 

feeding  experiments  with,  176. 
Corn  stover,  174. 
for  cows,  477. 
for  sheep,  508. 
vs.  mixed  hay  and  clover  hay  for  cows, 

425. 

see  Stover. 

Corn-stalk  disease,  the  so-called,  175. 
Correctives  for  swine,  614. 
Cost  of  finished  steer,  389. 
Cotton  seed,  154. 

effect  of,  on  butter,  156. 

on  steer  fat,  156. 
feeding  of,  154. 
fertility  in,  159. 
for  beef  production,  361. 
Cotton  seed  and  its  by-products  for  cows, 

419,  475. 
Cotton  seed  and  cotton-seed  meal,  rational 

use  of,  158. 

Cotton-seed  cake  and  meal,  155. 
Cotton-seed  hulls,  158. 
Cotton-seed  meal,  for  calves,  157. 
for  dairy  cows,  156. 
for  horses,  155. 
for  pigs,  157. 

vs.  wheat  bran  for  cows,  420. 
Cotton-seed  meal  and  hulls  for  steers,  156. 
Cotton-seed  poisoning,  157. 
Cows,  advance  in  lactation  of,  and  pro- 
ductivity of  feed,  407. 
amount  of  water  drank  by,  410. 
annual  feed  consumption  of,  459. 
barley  for,  474. 
brewers'  grains  for,  474. 
by-products  of  corn  for,  473. 
care  before  and  after  weaning,  468. 
caring  for,  464. 
clover  hay  for,  476. 
concerning  feeding  stuffs  for,  472. 
confinement  during  heated  periods,  470, 
consumption  of  dry  matter  by,  461. 
cooking  feed  for,  432. 
corn  for,  472. 
corn  meal  for,  473. 
corn  stover  for,  477. 
corn  stover  vs.  hay  for,  425. 
cotton  seed  and  its  by-products  for,  419, 

475. 

cotton-seed  meal  vs*  bran  for,  420. 
dairy,  compared  with  beef  type,  406. 
rations  for,  478. 

test  at  Columbian  Exposition,  448. 
dairying  based  on  maternity  of,  488. 


646 


Index. 


Cows,  Danish  experiments  with,  442. 

distillery  grains,  dried,  vs.  oats  for,  421. 

drinking  at  will,  411. 

dry  feed  for,  469. 

effect  of  age  on  productivity  of  feed,  406. 

effect  of  grooming,  412. 

exercise  for,  464. 

fall  and  spring,  467. 

feeding  exclusively  with  meal,  94. 

feeding  fat  to,  431. 

feeding  grain  in  form  of  slop  to,  433. 

feeding  potassium  chlorid  to,  432. 

fish  scrap  for,  431. 

fodder  corn  for,  476. 

fodder  corn  vs.  timothy  hay  for,  424. 

frequency  in  feeding  of,  468. 

gluten  feed  vs.  corn  meal  and  bran  for, 

414. 
gluten  meal  vs.  cotton-seed  meal  for, 

415. 

heavy  feeders  the  most  profitable,  408. 
influence  of  work  on  quality  of  milk, 

412. 
Japan  clover  hay  vs.  Bermuda  hay  for, 

423. 

large  vs.  small,  405. 
linseed  meal  vs.  cotton-seed  meal  for, 

420. 

liberal  and  meager  rations  for,  437. 
liberal  feeding  of,  470. 
maize  feed  vs.  corn  meal  and  bran  for, 

414. 

milk  of,  and  its  by-products,  226. 
milk  and  skim  milk  for,  430. 
millet  hay  for,  476. 
necessity  of  shelter  for,  464. 
oats  for,  473. 

oats,  ground,  vs.  wheat  bran  for,  418. 
.  oil  cake  vs.  grain  for,  421. 
on,  pasture,  feeding  grain  to,  433. 
order  of  feeding,  469. 
potatoes  for,  430. 
preparation  of  feed  for,  469. 
rape  for,  428. 

record  for  one  year  of,  at  Cornell  Sta- 
tion, 460. 
regularity  and  kindness  in  handling, 

465. 
relation  of  concentrates  and  roughage 

for,  471. 
relation  of  water  drank  to  milk  yield, 

410. 

residual  effect  of  grain  feeding,  435. 
Roberts'  system  of  caring  for,  465. 
roots  for,  477. 

roots  vs.  concentrated  feeds  for,  429. 
rye  for,  474. 
salt  for,  471. 

shorts  vs.  wheat  bran  for,  417. 
silage  for,  477. 

silage  vs.  fodder  corn  for,  427. 
silage  vs.  hay  for,  426. 
sorghum-seed  meal  for,  418. 
timothy  hay  for,  476. 


Cows,  timothy  hay  vs.  meadow  foxtail  hay 
for,  423. 

upland  prairie  hay  vs.  timothy  hay  for, 
422. 

value  of  shelter  for,  411. 

warm  vs.  cold  water  for,  411. 

water  for,  470. 

wheat  bran  and  middlings  for,  473. 

wheat  bran  vs.  mixed  grain  for,  417. 

wheat  meal  vs.  corn  meal  for,  415. 

wheat  meal  vs.  mixed  grain  for,  416. 

whey  for,  430. 

whole  corn  vs.  corn  and  cob  meal,  413. 

wide  and  narrow  rations  for,  445. 

see  Dairy  cow. 
Cowpea,  162, 209. 
Cowpeas  for  pigs,  567. 
Crimson  clover,  202. 

overripe,  dangerous  to  horses,  202. 
Crops  for  the  silo,  255. 
Crude  fiber,  10. 

Dairy  by-products  for  swine,  611. 
Dairy  calf,  rearing,  339. 
Dairy  cow,  American  rations  for  the,  114. 

calculating  ration  for,  106. 

care  and  management  of,  463. 

cotton-seed  meal  for,  156. 

economy  of,  401. 

feed  for,  471. 

feed  and  care  of,  463. 

investigations  concerning,  401. 

period  of  gestation,  401. 

pure-bred,  public  tests  of,  448. 

tests  at  Experiment  Stations,  455. 

ratio  of  milk  yield  to  body  weight,  408, 

relation  of  live  weight  to  yield  of,  404. 

rations  for,  478. 

standard  rations  for,  114. 

yield  of  products,  402. 

see  Cow. 

Dairy  herds,  Station  findings  with,  457. 
Danish  experiments  in  cow  feeding,  442, 
Danish  pig-feeding  experiments,  583. 

slaughtering  tests,  584. 
Deglutition,  14. 
Diastase,  4. 
Digestible  matter  for  one  pound  of  growth, 

91. 

Digestible  nutrients,  total,  99. 
Digestibility,  depression  in,  31. 

not  affected  by  fat,  81. 

not  affected  by  salt,  81. 

of  coarse  and  concentrated  feeds  com- 
bined, 31. 

of  feeds  by  various  animals,  30. 

of  fodder,  affected  by  weather,  30. 

of  fodder,  not  affected  by  drying,  30. 

of  nutrients,  28. 
Digestion,  artificial,  31. 
Digestion  coefficients,  98. 
Digestion  trial,  with  sheep,  26. 

with  ox  in  respiration  apparatus,  34. 
Dipping  fattening  sheep,  524. 
Distillery  grains,  dried, vs.  oats  for  cows,  42  L 


Index. 


647 


Dried  blood,  220. 

for  pigs,  78. 

for  sheep,  511. 
Dried  brewers'  grains,  137. 

for  horses,  293. 
Dried  fish,  221. 

Dry  matter  required  for  100  pounds  of  gain 
.  with  steers,  370. 

Dry  substance  in  the  animal  body,  72. 
Dutch  system  of  veal  making,  the,  343. 
Dynamometer,  Wolff's,  274. 
Ear  corn  vs.  corn  meal  for  steers,  345. 
Ensilage,  see  Silage. 
Ergot,  193. 
Ether  extract,  11. 

potential  energy  of,  38. 
Ewes,  breeding,  food  for,  517. 

maintenance  food  for,  in  winter,  526. 

care  and  feed  of,  530. 

feed  required  for  100  pounds  of  milk, 
484. 

flushing,  517. 

milking  qualities  of,  483. 
Ewe's  milk,  composition  of,  480. 

value  of,  for  lamb  growing,  484. 
Ewes  and  lambs,  soiling  of,  486. 
Exclusive  meal  feeding,  94. 
Excrement,  amount  of,  voided   by  farm 
animals,  264. 

composition  of,  266. 
Excretions,  from  the  kidneys,  23. 

of  the  skin,  24. 
Exercise  for  cows,  464. 

importance  of,  in  horse  management, 
330. 

value  of,  for  pigs,  549. 

Experiment  Stations,  findings  with  dairy 
herds  by,  457. 

trials  of  pure-bred  dairy  cows  at,  455. 
Exposure  vs.  confinement  for  sheep,  492. 
Farm    animals,    amount    of    excrement 
voided  by,  264. 

calculating  rations  for,  102. 

comparative  fattening  qualities  of,  74. 

manure  produced  by,  269. 

nitrogen  and  ash  in  carcass  of,  77. 

nitrogen  and  ash  retained  and  voided 

by,  265. 

Farm  manure,  value  of,  per  ton,  270. 
Farm  stock,  silage  for,  256. 
Fat,  11. 

cost  of  production,  448,  458. 

equivalent  of  foods  for  100  parts  of,  37. 

feeding  to  dairy  cows,  431. 

feeding  with,  56. 

in  milk,  formation  of,  54. 

in  the  animal  body,  72. 
formation  of,  56. 

influence  of,  on  protein  consumption, 
44. 

potential  energy  of,  88. 

value  of,  for  fat  formation,  59. 
Fat  and  carbohydrates,  relative  effects  of, 
48. 


Fat  consumption,  influence  of  water  on,  60. 
Fat  formation,  from  carbohydrates,  51. 
from  protein,  55. 
method  of  studying,  33. 
influence  of  feeding  fat  on,  56. 
influence  of  feeding  protein  on,  57. 
influence  of  feeding  protein  and  carbo- 
hydrates on,  58. 
influence  of  feeding  protein  and  fat  on, 

57. 

Fat  nutrition,  25. 
Fat  of  cow's  milk,  226. 
Fat  of  the  body,  disposition  of,  617. 

source  of,  50. 
Fat  sickness,  363. 
Fat,  see  Butter  fat. 
Fat-Stock  Show,  sheep  at,  495. 
Fattening  and  feeds,  75. 
Fattening,  composition  of  increase  during, 

73. 

influence  of  light  on,  61. 
Fattening   of  steers,  feed  for  100  pounds 

gain  during,  370.  i-" 

Fattening  period,  cost  of  gain  increases 

with  length  of,  369. 
for  pigs,  length  of,  554. 
Fattening  process,  concerning  the,  61. 
Fattening  qualities,  comparative,  of  dif- 
ferent farm  animals,  74. 
Fattening  sheep,  quarters  for,  522. 
Fattening  shorn  lambs,  490. 
Fatty  acids,  feeding  of,  50. 
I  Feed,  influence  of,  on  animal  body,  78,  616. 
effect  of,  on  composition  of  butter  fat, 

442. 

on  milk,  a  review  of,  444. 
on  teeth  and  skull  of  pigs,  542. 
on  the  body  of  the  pig,  78. 
on  quality  of  pork,  614. 
concentrated,  necessity  of,  for  cows,  471. 
cooking,  for  swine,  236. 
dry,  for  cows,  469. 
for  the  dairy  cow,  471. 
for  live  stock,  preparation  of,  235. 
influence  of  cost  of,  on  economy  of  ra- 
tions, 446. 

preparation  of,  for  cows,  469. 
required  for  100  pounds  gain  with  pigs, 

551,602. 

requirements  for  work  with  horses,  278, 
soaking  of,  239. 

succulent,  influence  of,  on  milk,  439. 
wet,  does  not  necessarily  make  watery 

milk,  440. 
Feed  and  care  of  the  bull,  467. 

of  the  dairy  cow,  463. 
Feed  consumption,  annual,  by  dairy  cows, 

459. 

Feed  lot,  counsel  in  the,  381. 
Feed  racks  for  fattening  sheep,  522. 
Feeding,  liberal,  of  cows,  470. 
exclusively  with  meal,  94. 
frequency  of,  for  cows,  468. 
order  of,  for  cows,  469. 


648 


Index. 


Feeding,  previous,  influence  of,  43. 
Feeding   horses,   order  of  administering 

feeds,  325. 

Feeding  dark  flour,  129. 
Feeding,  for  beef,  338. 

swine,  light  vs.  heavy,  601. 

exclusively  on  corn,  78,  86. 
Feeding  standards,  conclusions  relative  to, 
117. 

explanations  of,  97, 108. 

introduction  of,  in  America,  111. 

Wolff-L-ehmann,  101. 
Feeding  stuffs,  digestibility  of,  26. 

fertilizing  constituents  of,  263. 

for  cows,  472. 

manurial  value  of,  263. 

money  value  of  different  nutrients  in, 
117. 

nutrients  of,  97. 

valuation  of  fertilizing  constituents  in, 
268. 

variation  in  digestibility  of,  26. 
Feeding  tables,  explanation  of,  108. 
Feed  required  in  fattening,  75. 
Feeds,  order  of  administering  to  horses,  325. 
Fermentations  in  the  stomach,  20. 
Fertilizers,  commercial,  267. 

essential  constituents  of,  263. 
Fertilizing  constituents  in  feeding  stuffs, 

valuation  of,  268. 
Field  bean,  162. 

Field-curing  corn,  losses  in,  171. 
Field  pea,  161. 

common,  vine  of,  209. 
Fish  scrap,  221. 

for  cows,  431. 

for  fattening  steers,  356. 

for  sheep,  511. 
Flat  turnip,  213. 
Flavor  of  milk,  butter,  etc.,  feed  influences 

on,  443. 
Flax  seed,  148. 

for  calves,  149,  337. 
Flax  straw,  193. 
Flesh  consumption,  40. 
Flesh  formation,  method  of  studying,  33. 
Flesh  meal,  220. 
Flesh  production,  35. 

influence  of  wide  and  narrow  rations 

on,  47. 
Flour,  dark,  feeding  of,  129. 

low-grade,  feeding  of,  129. 
Flock,  quarters  for,  516. 

size  of,  515. 

winter  care  of,  516. 

see  Sheep. 
Foals,  313. 

feeding,  cow's  milk  for,  317. 
•    feeding  before  weaning,  314. 

increase  in  weight  of,  272. 

Palo  Alto  system  of  feeding,  314. 

rearing  by  hand,  317. 

trotting,  weight  at  birth,  272. 

weaning,  315. 


Foals,  weight  and  growth  of,  271. 

see  Colt. 
Fodders,  coarse,  digestibility  of,  29. 

pulling  of,  174. 

value  of  components  of,  for  horses,  27tf. 
Fodder  corn  and  silage,  feeding  tests  with, 

249. 
Fodder  corn,  cured,  173. 

digestibility  of,  248. 

for  cows,  476. 

for  horses,  304. 

for  soiling,  172. 

dry,  and  silage,  relative  merits  of,  249. 

dry,  milk  produced  from  dry  matter 
in,  248. 

green,  cost  of  placing  in  silo,  255. 

vs.  timothy  hay  for  cows,  424. 

see  Corn  fodder. 
Food,  the  basis  of  life,  63. 

energy  of,  not  measured  by  body  heat, 

67. 

Food  nutrients,  digestibility  of,  28. 
Food  requirements  for  work,  68. 
Forage,  rape,  218. 

coarse,   withholding    of,   from    rumi- 
nants, 94. 

Force,  production  of,  63. 
Formation  of  body  tissues,  40. 
Fuel  value  of  rations,  115. 
Gain,  cost  of,  in  steers,  increases  with  age, 
369. 

increases  with  length  of  fattening  pe- 
riod^. 
Gastric  digestion,  14. 

of  ruminants,  16. 
Gastric  fluid,  composition  of,  15. 
Glucose,  5. 
Gluten  feed  vs.  corn  meal  and  bran  for 

cows,  414. 

Gluten  meal  vs.  cotton-seed  meal  for  cows, 
415. 

for  steers,  351. 
Gluten  meal  and  corn  vs.  wheat  for  pigs, 

558. 

Glycogen,  25. 

Grain,  feeding,  to  cows  on  pasture,  433. 
in  form  of  slop  to  cows,  433. 
to  lambs  before  weaning,  510. 

for  lambs  before  weaning,  508. 

grinding,  243. 

mixed,  vs.  oats  for  colts,  300. 

relative  merits  of,  for  horses,  303. 

vs.  beets  for  pigs,  595. 

vs.  boiled  potatoes  for  pigs,  595. 

vs.  blood  bread  for  pigs,  597. 

vs.  mangels  for  pigs,  595. 

vs.  rye  shorts  for  pigs,  593. 
Grain-feeding  cows  on  pasture,  433. 

steers  on  pasture,  358. 

residual  e fleet  of,  435. 
Grain  feeds  vs.  skim  milk  for  pigs,  586. 

vs.  whey  for  pigs,  587. 
Grass,  changes  in,  during  ripening,  180. 

dry  vs.  green,  184. 


Index. 


649 


Grass,  for  pasture  and  soiling,  ITS. 
Hungarian,  188. 
mixed,  188. 
orchard,  187. 
redtop,  187. 
timothy,  186. 
time  to  cut  for  hay,  181. 
Grasses,  at  the  South,  188. 
mixed,  permanent,  188. 
see  Hay  and  Pasture. 
Grinding  grain,  213. 

for  fattening  sheep,  523. 
Grooming  cows,  effect  of,  412. 
Growth  and  fattening,  influence  of  wide 

and  narrow  rations  on,  88. 
Hairy  vetch,  210. 

Hard-wood  ashes  for  corn-fed  pigs,  86. 

Hay,  180, 185. 

aroma  of,  182. 

chaffing,  239. 

long  and  chaffed,  experiments  with,  242. 

time  to  cut  grass  for,  181. 

treatment  of,  183. 

wet  chaffed,  for  calves,  243. 

see  Grasses  and  Legumes. 

Hay  and  oats,  relative  value  of,  for  horses, 

293. 

Hay  and  potatoes  for  horses,  306. 
Hay  crops,  the  small  grains  as,  192. 
Hay  curing,  changes  during,  182. 
Hay  making,  losses  due  to  weathering,  185. 

points  in,  182. 
Hay  tea  for  calves.  341. 
Heart-beats  per  minute,  in  horse  and  ox,  22. 
Heat-units  of  feeds,  measurement  of,  37. 
Heating  water  for  cows,  411. 
Heiden's  method  ftx^calculating  amount 

of  manure  produced,  265. 
Hemp-seed  cake  vs.  grain  for  pigs,  588. 
Herd  record  for  one  year,  460. 
Herd's  grass,  186. 
Hogs,  see  Pigs. 

Honey-comb  stomach,  the,  16. 
Horse  bean,  162. 
Horses,  adverse  report  on  feeding  corn  to, 

299. 

army,  rations  for,  332. 
artichokes  for,  307. 
barley  for,  293. 

bran  and  shorts  vs.  oats  for,  295. 
bran,  wheat  and  shorts  vs.  bran  and 

shorts  for,  295. 
carriage,  feeding  of,  322. 
carrots  for,  307. 
clover  hay  for,  303. 
cocoanut  meal  for,  301. 
cooked  feed  for,  238. 
conclusions  concerning  corn  for,  300. 
dried  brewers'  grains  for,  293. 
effect  of  disturbed  conditions  on,  291. 
experiments  in  feeding,  306. 
feed  and  care  of,  311. 
feed  consumed  and  work  performed  by, 
273. 


Horses,  feeds  for,  292. 

feed  required  by,  for  performing  work, 
285. 

feed  requirements  for  work,  278. 

fodder  corn  for,  304. 

German  army,  280. 

importance  of  exercise  for,  330. 
variety  of  feed  for,  328. 

Indian  corn  for,  297. 

influence  of  rapidity  of  work,  279. 

investigations  concerning,  271. 

loss  of  weight  of,  during  work,  286,  290. 

maintenance  rations  for,  282. 

malt  sprouts  for,  301. 

measuring  the  work  of,  274. 

millet  hay  injurious  to,  304. 

nutrients    required    for  maintenance 
and  work,  276. 

oats  for,  292. 

order  of  administering  grain,  hay  and 
water,  325. 

Paris  Cab,  rations  fed  to,  308. 

Paris  Omnibus,  rations  fed  to,  309. 

peanut  meal  for,  301. 

potatoes  vs.  hay  for,  306. 

preparation  of  feed  for,  325. 

protein   required  in  maintenance  ra- 
tions for,  283. 

range  of  feeding  stuffs  for,  811. 

rate  of  movement,  279. 

rations  for,  308,  331. 

relation  of  speed  to  work  of,  287. 

relative  merits  of  grains  for,  303. 

results  of  digestion  trials  with,  276,  281. 

roots  for,  306. 

ruta-bagas  for,  308. 

steamed  potatoes  for,  306. 

stover  for,  304. 

straw  for,  304. 

street-car,  rations  for,  332. 

substitutes  for  oats  for,  292. 

systematic  feeding  of,  of  highest  im- 
portance, 328. 

time  used  in  masticating  hay,  13. 

timothy  hay  for,  303. 

variation  in  weight  of,  291. 

water  drank  by,  286,  289. 

wheat  and  bran  vs.  oats  for,  296. 

work  done  by,  288. 

wheat  for,  294. 

work,  compounding  rations  for,  301. 

work,  feeding  of,  323. 

work,  nutritive  ratio  for,  284. 
lorse  feeding,  successful,  a  skilled  art,  312. 

supervision  of,  330. 
lorse-feeding  experiments,  273,  280,  298. 
Horse  feeds,  digestion  of,  280. 
Hungarian  grass,  188. 

see  Millet, 
lydrochloric  acid  in  gastric  juice,  15. 
ncrease  during  fattening,  composition  of, 
73. 

ndian  corn,  see  Corn, 
nsalivation,  13. 


650 


Index. 


Intake  of  body  in  respiration  and  feeding, 

34. 

Intestinal  juice,  the,  20. 
Intestines,  large,  18. 

length  of,  of  pigs,  542. 

of  farm  animals,  length  and  capacity 

6f,  19. 

Japan  clover,  203. 
Japan  clover   hay  vs.   Bermuda  hay  for 

cows,  423. 

Japanese  millet,  188. 
June  grass,  185. 
Kaffir  corn,  value  of,  in  steer  droppings,  353. 

for  pigs,  565. 

for  steers,  352. 

red,  yield  of,  146. 
Kentucky  blue  grass,  185. 
Kidneys,  excretion  from,  23. 
Kiihn's  rations,  method  of  compounding, 

115. 

Kiihn's  standard  maintenance  ration,  112. 
Labor,  hard,  nitrogen  excretion  during,  65. 
Lactation  of  cow,  advance  in,  and  produc- 
tivity of  feed,  407. 

Lamb  growing,  value  of  ewe's  milk  for,  484. 
Lambing,  date  of,  517. 
Lambing  time,  care  of  sheep  at,  518. 
Lambs,  compared  with  pigs,  482. 

fat,  521. 

fattening,  rations  for,  528. 
"self-feed  "for,  490. 

feeding  grain  to,  before  weaning,  510. 

feeding  milk  to,  481. 

feeding  of,  530. 

grain  for,  before  weaning,  508. 

shorn,  fattening  of,  490. 

vs.  sheep  for  fattening,  486. 

water  drank  by,  during  fattening,  493. 

weaning  of,  519. 

weight  at  birth,  481. 

winter  or  Christmas,  raising,  529. 

see  Sheep. 

Lambs  and  pigs,  relative  economy  of,  483. 
Lard,  cause  of  low  price  of,  609. 
Large  intestine,  18. 
Leaves  and  twigs,  219. 
Legumes,  195. 

fertilizing  constituents  of,  210. 
Leguminous  plants  for  green  forage  and 

hay,  195. 
Leguminous  seeds,  161. 

fertilizing  constituents  of,  162. 
Liebig's  theory  concerning  the  function  of 

protein,  64. 

Light,  influence  of,  on  fattening,  61. 
Linseed  meal,  149. 

castor  oil  seed  in,  153. 

fertilizing  constituents  of,  153. 

vs.  cotton-seed  meal  for  cows,  420. 

see  Oil  meal. 

Low-grade  flour,  feeding  of,  129. 
Lucern,  see  Alfalfa. 
Lymphatic  system,  the,  21. 
Lymphatics,  the,  21. 


Maintenance  food  for  breeding  ewes,  52tj. 
Maintenance  rations,  for  horses,  282. 

for  oxen,  111. 

Kiihn's,  112. 

protein  required  in,  283. 
Maize,  see  Corn. 
Maize  feed  vs.  corn  meal  and  bran  for  cows, 

414. 

Malt  for  stock,  136. 
Malting,  135. 
Malt  sprouts,  138. 

digestibility  of,  27. 

for  horses,  301. 
Mammoth  clover,  201. 
Mangels,  213. 

vs.  carrots  for  pigs,  596. 

vs.  grain  for  pigs,  595. 
Manure,  from  the  ox,  264. 

produced  by  farm  animals,  269. 

produced,  Heiden's  method  for  calcu- 
lating amount  of,  265. 
Manurial  value  of  feeding  stuffs,  263. 
Manyplies,  16. 
Mare,  food  for,  "20. 

period  of  gestation  of,  271. 

see  Horse. 

Mare's  milk,  composition  of,  273. 
Mare  and  foal,  investigations  concerning,. 

271. 
Mastication,  12. 

time  required  by  horse  for,  13. 
Mating  sheep,  529. 
Meal  feeding,  exclusive,  94. 
Meat  scrap,  220. 

for  pigs,  575. 

for  sheep,  511. 
Middlings  for  swine,  610. 

vs.  corn  fqr  pigs,  561. 

see  Shorts.  " 
Milch  cows,  salt  for,  411. 

see  Cows. 
Milk,  226. 

changing  components  of,  441. 

changing  ratio  of  solids  to  water  in,  -W; 

cost  of  production  of,  448,  458. 

cow's,  for  foal  feeding,  317. 

effect  of  feed  on  quantity  of,  437. 

ewe's,  composition  of,  480. 

feed  required  for  100  pounds  of,  484 
value  of,  for  lamb  growing,  484. 

fat  globules  of,  403. 

feeding  of,  to  lambs,  481. 

feed  in  relation  to,  437. 

influence  of  character  of  rations  on,.4o7> 

influence  of  feed  on,  437. 

influence  of  feed  on  flavor  of,  443. 

influence  of  feed  on,  review  of,  444. 

influence  of  pasture  on,  439. 

influence  of  succulent  feed  on,  439. 

mare's,  273. 

nitrogenous  constituents  of,  227. 

modifications  of,  by  feeding,  437. 

per  cent,  of  fat  in  successive  portions, 
of,  403. 


Index. 


651 


Milk,  sow's,  concerning,  536. 
quantity  yielded,  537. 
composition  of,  537. 
sweet  vs.  sour,  for  pigs,  573. 
whole,  228. 

for  calves,  334. 
for  pigs,  571. 
Milk  and  its  by-products,  fertilizing  value 

of,  229. 

Milk  and  skim  milk  for  cows,  430. 
Milk  ash,  227. 
Milk  fat,  226,  227. 
Milk  flow,  influence  of  time  from  calving 

on,  407. 

Milk  serum,  226. 
Milk  sugar,  227. 
Milk  yield,  influence  of  shearing  wool  on, 

485. 

Milking  qualities  of  ewes,  488. 
Millet,  147, 188. 

Japanese,  188. 
Millet  hay,  for  cows,  476. 
injurious  to  horses,  304. 
for  sheep,  507. 
see  Hungarian  grass. 
Millo  maize,  189. 
Mineral  compounds,  7. 
Molasses,  for  steers,  356. 

from  the  beet  factory,  224. 
Money  value  of  different  nutrients  in  feed- 
ing stuffs,  117. 

Mule,  the,  work  done  by,  288. 
Muscular  energy,  source  of,  63,  69. 
Muscular  exertion,  60. 
Mutton  breeds  and  the  Merinos  compared, 

515. 
Narrow  and  wide  rations,  influence  of,  on 

flesh  production,  47. 

Nitrogen,  excretion  during  hard  labor,  65. 
retained  and  voided  by  farm  animals, 

265. 

Nitrogen-free  extract,  11. 
Nitrogenous    substances,   calculation     of 

composition,  35. 
in  the  animal  body,  72. 
see  Protein. 

Nutrients,  total,  digestibility  of,  99. 
in  feeding  stuffs,  97. 
placing  money  value  on,  117. 
valuation  of,  in  concentrated  feeding 

stuffs,  117. 
Nutriotone,  230. 
Nutrition,  animal,  40. 
Nutritive  ratio,  100. 
Oat  feed  for  pigs,  564. 
Oat  grain,  the,  139. 
Oat  straw  for  sheep,  506. 
Oats,  a  stimulating  principle  in,  140. 
by-products  of,  141. 
for  cows,  473. 
for  fattening  sheep,  523. 
for  horses,  292. 

boiled  rye  as  a  substitute  for,  297. 
substitutes  for,  292. 


Oats,  for  pigs,  564. 

for  sheep,  499. 

ground,  vs.  wheat  bran  for  cows,  418. 

new,  unfit  for  feeding,  140. 

vs.  bran  and  shorts,  for  horses,  295. 
Oats  and  hay,  relative  value  of,  for  horses, 

293. 

Oats  and  peas,  191. 
Oats  and  their  by-products,  139. 
Oats,  beans  and  corn,  relative  value  of,  for 

horses,  293. 
Oil-bearing  seeds  and  their  by-products, 

148. 
Oil  cake,  value  of  oil  in,  151. 

vs.  grain  for  pigs,  588. 

vs.  grain  for  cows,  421. 
Oil  cake  and  oil  meal,  149. 

as  a  feeding  stuff,  152. 
Oil  meal,  adulteration  of,  150. 

for  steers,  351,  384. 

home  use  of,  153. 

new-process,  149. 

relative  value  of  old-  and  new-process, 
150. 

swelling  process  of,  150. 

see  Linseed  meal. 
Olein,  6. 

Oleomargarine  for  calves,  337. 
Omasum,  16. 
Orchard  grass,  187. 
Ox,  maintenance  ration  for,  111. 

manure  from,  264. 

see  Steer. 
Palmitin,  6. 

Palm-nut  cake  vs.  grain  for  pigs,  588. 
Palm-nut  meal,  159. 
Pancreatic  juice,  18. 

Paris  Omnibus  Co.,  horse  experiments  con- 
ducted by,  298. 
Parsnip,  213. 
Pasture,  concerning,  178. 

droppings  of  corn-fed  steers  on,  for  pigs, 
579. 

feeding  grain  to  steers  on,  358. 

feeding  pigs  on,  only,  578. 

for  pigs,  576,  612. 

grain-feeding  steers  on,  386. 

grasses  for,  178. 

influence  of,  on  milk,  439. 

possibilities  of,  for  steer  feeding,  386. 

producing  veal  on,  338. 

small  vs.  large,  for  steers,  385. 

time  for  turning  steers  to,  385. 

turning  sheep  to,  519. 
Pasture  grass,  yield  of,  179. 
Pasturing  steers,  358. 
Paunch,  16. 

Peanut  cake  vs.  grain  for  pigs,  588. 
Peanut  meal,  160. 

for  horses,  301. 
Pear  cactus,  218. 
Peas,  161. 

for  pigs,  565,  611. 
Pea-vine  hay,  209. 


652 


Index. 


Pellagra  corn  disease,  the,  122. 
Pepsin,  15. 

Permanent  grasses,  mixed,  188. 
Pigeon-grass  seed,  for  pigs,  667. 

for  sheep,  600. 

Pigs,  amount  of  feed  consumed  by,  552. 
artichokes  for,  571. 
average  daily  gain  by,  552. 
barley  meal  for,  562. 
barley  vs.  centrifugal  skim  milk  for, 

586. 

breed  tests  of,  543. 
buckwheat  for,  566. 
buttermilk  for,  574. 
carrots  vs.  mangels  for,  596. 
centrifugal  vs.  gravity  skim  milk  for, 

584. 

clover  hay  with  meal  for,  577. 
compared  with  lambs,  482. 
composition  of,  70. 
corn  and  blue-grass  pasture  for,  577. 
corn-fed,  hard-wood   ashes  and  bone 

meal  for,  86. 

strengthening  the  bones  of,  86. 
corn  meal  vs.  corn  for,  55d. 
cotton-seed  meal  for,  157. 
cowpeas  for,  567. 

droppings  of  corn-fed  steers  for,  580. 
early  gains  of,  540. 
effect  of  addition  of  water  to  the  feed 

for,  599. 

effects  of  feed  on  teeth  and  skull  of,  542. 
fattening,  608. 
fiat  vs.  lean,  experiments  with,  78. 

experiments    with,   misconception 

concerning,  85. 

feed  for  100  pounds  of  gain  of,  553,  602. 
feed  for  100  pounds  live  weight  of,  552. 
feeding  of,  605. 

on  pasture  only,  578. 
through  the  dam,  541. 
following  corn-led  steers,  gains  of,  580. 
food  of  support,  550. 
for  shows,  ball-feeding  of,  613. 
gain  from  a  bushel  of  corn  by,  581. 
gluten  meal  and  corn  vs.  wheat  for,  558. 
grain  vs.  beets  of  different  sugar  con- 
tent for,  595. 
vs.  blood  bread  for,  597. 
vs.  boiled  potatoes  for,  595. 
vs.  oil  cake  for,  588. 
vs.  rye  shorts  for,  593. 
hemp-seed  cake  vs.  grain  for,  588. 
increase,  composition  of,  during  fatten- 
ing, 70. 

Influence  of,  on  the  growing  body  of,  78. 
Kaffir  corn  for,  565. 
length  of  fattening  period  for,  554. 
length  of  intestines,  542. 
mangels  vs.  grain  for,  595. 
meat  scrap  for,  575. 
middlings  vs.  corn  meal  for,  561. 
oat  feed  for,  564. 
oats  for,  564. 


Pigs,  palm-nut  cake  vs.  grain  for,  588. 

partial  analyses  of  blood  and  kidneys 
of,  84. 

pasture  for,  576. 

percentage  gain  of,  from  birth  to  matu- 
rity, 553. 

peanut  cake  vs.  grain  for,  588. 

peas  for,  565. 

pigeon-grass  seed  for,  567. 

potatoes  for,  568. 

rape  forage  for,  579. 

rice  meal  for,  567. 

roots  for,  570. 

rye  or  barley  vs.  Indian  corn  for,  591. 

rye  vs.  barley  for,  588, 

vs.  centrifugal  skim  milk  for,  588. 

separator  skim  milk  for,  571. 

sheaf  wheat  for,  560. 

shelter  for,  598. 

skim  milk  fed,  gain  from,  338. 

skim  milk  vs.  grain  for,  586. 
vs.  whey  for,  5S5. 

soaked  meal  vs.  dry  meal  for,  547. 

strength  of  thigh  bones  of,  83. 

sunflower-seed  cake  vs.  grain  for,  588. 

sweet  vs.  sour  milk  for,  573. 

turnips  vs.  whey  for,  596. 

value  of  corn  and  cob  meal  for,  557. 

value  of  exercise  for,  549. 

value  of  shelter  for,  549. 

value  of  various  feeding  stuffs  for,  556. 

water  drank  by,  543. 

weaning,  607. 

weight,  gain  and  feed  consumed  by,  581. 
at  birth,  535,  510. 

wheat  for,  559. 

wheat  and  corn  meal  for,  559. 

wheat  bran  vs.  middlings  for,  562, 
vs.  rye  and  barley  for,  594. 
with  corn  for,  562. 

whey  for,  574. 

whey  vs.  grain  for,  574,  587. 

whole  milk  for,  571. 

winter  vs.  summer  feeding  of,  600. 

young,  exercise  for,  606. 

see  8wine. 

Pigs  and  lambs,  relative  economy  of,  483. 
Pig  feeding,  centrifugal  vs.  gravity  skim 

milk,  584. 
Pig-feeding  experiments,  Danish,  583. 

lessons  for  the  breeder  and  feeder,  617. 

lessons  from  experiments  in,  616. 
Plains  sheep,  fattening  of,  531. 
Plant  building,  3. 
Plant  cells,  1. 
Plant  effort,  the  end  of,  7. 
Plant  growth,  1. 

from  the  chemist's  standpoint,  4. 
Plant  life,  the  sun  the  source  of,  8. 
Plant  oils,  5. 
Plant  substances,   how  grouped  by  the 

chemist,  9. 
Plants,  elements  essential  to,  1. 

how  food  is  gathered  by,  3. 


Index. 


653 


Plants,  the  support  of  animal  life,  8. 

water  required  by,  2. 
Planting  corn,  influence  of  thickness  in 

164. 

Poisoning  from  cotton  seed,  157. 
Pork,  influence  of  feed  on  quality  of,  614. 
lean,  demand  for,  609. 
production  at  the  South,  682. 
skim  milk  and  whey  fed,  quality  of 

588. 

Potassium  chlorid,  feeding  of,  to  cows,  432. 
Potato,  212. 

boiled  vs.  grain  for  pigs,  595. 
for  cows,  430. 
for  pigs,  568. 

steamed,  for  horses,  306. 
vs.  hay  for  horses,  306. 
Potential  energy  of  food  nutrients,  38. 
Prehension,  12. 
Prickly  comfrey,  217. 
Protein,  10. 

influence  of,  on  fat  formation,  57. 
potential  energy  of,  38. 
the  source  of  fat,  55. 
Protein  and   carbohydrates,  influence  of 

feeding,  on  fat  formation,  58. 
Protein  and  fat,  influence  of  feeding,  on  fat 

formation,  57. 
Protein  compounds,  6. 
Protein  consumption,  42. 

influence  of  amides  on,  48. 
influence  of  carbohydrates  on,  44. 
influence  of  carbohydrates   fed  with 

protein  on,  46. 
Influence  of  fat  on,  44. 
influence  of  mixed  diet  on,  44. 
influence  of  salt  on,  49. 
influence  of  various  nutrients  on,  44. 
influence  of  water  on,  49. 
Protein  feeding,  exclusive,  42. 
Protein  nutrition,  24. 
Protein,  see  Nitrogenous  substances. 
Pulp,  sugar  beet,  222. 
Pulse,  frequency  of,  in  farm  animals,  22. 
Pumpkin,  217. 

Pure-bred  steers,  quality  of,  378. 
Range  cattle,  fattening,  397. 
Rape,  for  milch  cows,  428. 
for  pigs,  579. 
for  sheep,  502. 
second  crop  for  sheep,  505. 
use  of,  218. 

vs.  blue-grass  pasture  for  sheep,  504. 
Rations,  calculating,  102. 

fed  by  American  dairymen,  113. 

fed  by  Connecticut  dairymen,  113. 

fed  to  Paris  Omnibus  Co.  horses,  309. 

for  army  horses,  332. 

for  dairy  cows,  478. 

for  farm  animals,  calculating,  102. 

for  fattening  lambs,  528. 

for  fattening  steers,  396. 

for  horses,  308,  331. 

for  streetrcar  horses,  3C2. 


Rations,  for  work  horses,  301. 
fuel  value  of,  115. 

influence  of  character  of,  on  milk,  437. 
influence  of  feed  prices  on  economy  of, 

446. 

liberal  and  meager,  for  milk  produc- 
tion, 437. 

theoretical,  for  fattening  steers,  393. 
wide  and  narrow,  for  cows,  437,  445. 
influence  of,  on  growth  and  fatten- 
ing, 88. 
Red  clover,  196. 

yield  of  three  crops  of,  196. 
see  Clover. 
Redtop,  187. 
Rennet,  15. 
Rennet  stomach,  16. 
Respiration,  23. 

exchange  of  gases  in,  23. 
per  minute  in  farm  animals,  23. 
Respiration  apparatus,  32. 

digestion  trial  with  ox  in,  34. 
illustration  of  use  of,  33. 
Respiration  studies,  32. 
Reticulum,  16. 
Rice  grain,  parts  of,  143. 
Rice  and  its  by-products,  143. 
Rice  meal  for  pigs,  567. 
Robertson  mixture,  for  silage,  253. 
Roots,  dry  matter  in,  251. 
feeding  of,  214. 
for  cows,  477. 
for  horses,  308. 
for  pigs,  570. 
for  steers,  354,  384. 

modification  of  animal  carcass  by,  214. 
preparation  of,  244. 
storing  of,  214. 

vs.  concentrated  feed  for  cows,  429. 
yield  of,  250. 
Root  crops,  not  generally  grown,  215. 
yield  of,  211. 

yield  of  digestible  nutrients,  212. 
Roots  and  tubers,  211. 

see  Beets,  Turnips,  Carrots,  etc. 
Roughage,  97. 

for  cattle,  steaming  of,  236. 
for  fattening  sheep,  5-3. 
Rumen,  16. 
Ruminants,  gastric  digestion  of,  16. 

withholding  coarse  forage  from,  94. 
Ruta-bagas,  213. 
for  horses,  308. 
or  cows,  474. 
vs.  barley  for  pigs,  588. 
vs.  centrifugal  skim  milk  for  pigs,  586. 
boiled,  as  a  substitute  for  oats,  297. 
flye  and  barley  vs.  wheat  bran  for  pigs,  594.. 
Rye  and  its  by-products,  132. 

as  stock  feeds,  132. 
lye  or  barley  vs.  Indian  corn  for  pigs,  591- 
Rye  shorts  vs.  grain  for  pigs,  503. 
Saliva,  composition  of,  14. 
secretion  of,  14. 


654 


Index. 


Salt,  for  cows,  471. 

for  sheep,  520. 

for  steers,  387. 

influence  of,  on  protein  consumption, 

49. 

Scarlet  or  crimson  clover,  202. 
Scotch  system  of  veal  making,  343. 
Keif-feed  for  fattening  lambs,  490. 
Separator  skim  milk,  for  calves,  335. 

placing  a  money  value  on,  572. 
Shearing,  frequency  of,  513. 

influence  of,  on  milk  yield,  485. 
Sheep,  at  American  Fat-Stock  Show,  495. 

alfalfa  hay  for,  505. 

attacks  of  vermin,  521. 

bran  for,  253,  499. 

breed  tests  of,  487,  489. 

care  of,  at  lambing  time,  518. 

comparison  of  the  Mutton  breeds  and 
the  Merinos,  515. 

composition  of,  70. 

corn  alone  and  in  combination  for,  509. 

corn  for,  497,  522. 

corn  silage  vs.  roots  for,  501. 

corn  stover  for,  508. 

cost  of  gain,  525. 

daily  gain  of,  for  the  various  breeds  of, 
494. 

dipping,  524. 

dried  blood  for,  511. 

dry  vs.  soaked  corn  for,  498. 

English  experience  with  wheat  for,  498. 

exposure  vs.  confinement  of,  492. 

fattened,  weight  of,  493. 

fattening,  514. 

feed  consumed  by,  524. 

feed  racks  for,  522. 

feeding,  hints  on,  526. 

fish  scrap  for,  511. 

food  of,  514. 

general  care  of,  514. 

grinding  grain  for,  523. 

increase  during  fattening,  70. 

influence  of  protein  On  carcass  of,  511. 

in  the  corn  belt,  531. 

investigations  with,  480. 

length  of  feeding  period  and  gains  of, 
524. 

mating  of,  529. 

mature,  521. 

meat  scrap  for,  511. 

millet  hay  for,  507. 

on  alfalfa  hay  and  grain,  532. 

oat  straw  for,  506. 

oats  for,  499,  528. 

period  of  gestation,  489. 

Plains,  fattening  of,  531. 

rape  for,  502. 

rape,  second  crop  of,  for,  505. 

rape  vs.  blue-grass  pasture  for,  504. 

regularity  and  quiet  for,  526. 

rate  of  increase,  525. 

roughage  for,  523. 

shrinkage  of,  in  shipping,  496. 


Sheep,  shrunken  wheat,  wild  buckwheat 
and  pigeon-grass  seed  for,  500. 

sugar  beets  for,  502. 

turning  to  pasture,  519. 

vs.  lambs  for  fattening,  486. 

water  and  salt  for,  520. 

weight  of  carcass  of,  495. 

Western,  fattening  on  alfalfa  hay,  508, 

wheat  for,  498,  552. 

wheat  screenings  for,  500,  523. 

see  Lambs. 
Shelter,  for  pigs,  598. 

influence  of,  in  fattening  steers,  864. 

necessity  of,  for  cows,  464. 

value  of,  for  cows,  411. 

for  pigs,  549. 

Shepherd  and  flock,  514. 
Shock  corn,  feeding  of,  172. 
Shorts,  130. 

vs.  wheat  bran  for  cows,  417. 

see  Middlings. 
Shotes,  feeding,  607. 

following  steers,  gain  of,  347. 
Shrinkage  in  shipping  of  sheep,  406. 
Silage,  245. 

digestibility  of,  248. 

effect  of,  on  quality  of  milk,  257. 
on  carcass  of  steers,  250. 

for  cows,  477. 

for  farm  stock,  256. 

for  steers,  381. 

from  beet  pulp,  223. 

importance  of  proper  horizontal  area 
in  feeding,  260. 

milk  produced  from  dry  matter  in,  248. 

on  the  rational  use  of,  257. 

relative  losses  in,  and  drying,  246. 

Southern  vs.  Northern  seed  corn  for, 
253. 

time  of  cutting  Southern  corn  for,  254. 

vs.  fodder  corn  for  cows,  417. 

vs.  hay  for  cows,  426. 

vs.  roots  for  steers,  355. 

weight  of,  at  different  depths,  259. 
Silage  and  beets,  relative  cost  of,  252. 
Silage  and  dry  fodder  corn,  relative  merits 
of,  219. 

space  occupied  by,  251. 
Silage  and  fodder  corn,  feeding  tests  with, 

249. 

Silage  and  roots,  dry  matter  in,  251. 
Silage,  corn  and  roots,  yield  of,  250. 
Silage,  corn,  removing  ears  from,  previous 
to  ensilage,  252. 

corn,  vs.  roots  for  sheep,  501. 

yield  of,  250. 
Silo,  capacity  of,  260. 

filling  and  covering,  261. 

building  and  filling  of,  258. 

crops  for,  25^5. 

rate  of  filling,  261. 

rectangular,  2,39. 
Silo  construction,  258. 
Silo  losses,  character  of,  247. 


Index. 


655 


Siloing  fodders,  permanency  of  method  of, 

245. 

Size  of  the  body,  a  factor  in  feeding,  60. 
Skim  milk,  228. 

centrifugal  vs.  gravity,  for  pigs,  584. 

for  calves,  335. 

gravity  vs.  separator,  for  calves,  336. 

separator,  for  pigs,  571. 

placing  a  money  value  on,  572. 

vs.  grain  for  pigs,  583. 

vs.  whey  for  pigs,  585. 
Skim  milk-  and  whey-fed  pork,  quality  of, 

588. 

Skin,  excretions  of,  24. 
Slaughtering  tests  of  pigs,  589. 
Slop,  feeding  grain  in  form  of,  to  cows,  433. 
Small  grains,  the,  as  hay  crops,  192. 
Smutrfeeding  experiments,  176. 
Smut  on  corn,  175. 

Soaked  meal  vs.  dry  meal  for  pigs,  547. 
Soaking  feed,  239. 
Soiling,  advantage  of,  231. 

experiments,  concerning  value  of,  231. 

fodder  corn  for,  172. 

labor  involved  in,  234. 

partial,  234. 
Soiling  cattle,  231. 
Soiling  crops,  233. 

Soiling  crops  and  pasture  compared,  232. 
Soiling.ewes  and  lambs,  486. 
Soja  bean,  161,  209. 
Sorghum,  145,  189. 

non-saccharine,  145. 

saccharine,  145, 147. 

second  growth,  dangers  from,  190. 

yield  of,  146. 
Sorghum  hay,  190. 
Sorghum  molasses,  225. 
Sorghum-seed  meal  for  cows,  418. 
South,  the,  pork  production  at,  582. 
Southern  vs.  Northern  seed  corn  for  silage, 

253. 
Sows,  milk  yielded  by,  536. 

composition  of  milk  of,  537. 

quantity  of  milk  yielded  by,  537. 

vs.  barrows  in  swine  feeding,  602. 
Sows  and  pigs,  feeding  of,  605. 
Soy  bean,  161,  209. 
Spontaneous  combustion,  200. 
Spurry,  216. 

Stallion,  the,  feed  and  care  of,  318, 
Standard  Cattle  Co.,  amount  of  grain  and 
hay  fed  to  cattle,  399. 

cost  of  feeding  cattle,  400. 

daily  feed  consumed  and  gains  of  steers, 
399. 

number  of  cattle  marketed  and  gains, 

399. 

Standard  rations  for  dairy  cows,  114. 
Starch,  4,  5. 

Starch  production,  124. 
Steaming  roughage  for  cattle,  236. 
Stearin,  6. 
Steer,  at  rest,  rations  for,  102. 


Steer,  amount  of  corn  passing  through, 

unbroken,  349. 

amount  of  feed  consumed,  872. 
balanced  ration  for,  357. 
bran  for,  383. 
changes    during    fattening   of,   to  be 

avoided,  365. 

composition  of  carcass  of,  70,  92. 
]     composition  of  increased  growth  of,  92. 
corn  and  cob  meal  for,  3 18. 
corn,  cob  and  husks  for,  349. 
•     corn-fed,  droppings  of,  for  pigs,  580. 

droppings  of,  on  pasture,  579. 
cost  of  feeding  increases  with  age,  388. 
i     cost  of  finished,  38 J. 

cost  of  gain  increases  with  length  of 

fattening  period,  369. 
dressed  weight  of  carcass  of,  374. 
dry  matter  required  for  100  pounds  of 

gain  in,  370. 

ear  corn  vs.  corn  meal  for,  345. 
early  maturity  of,  374,  390. 
effect  of  age  on  rate  of  gain  of,  367. 
effect  of  silage  on  carcass  of,  250. 
,     explanation  of  fattening  process,  387. 
fattening,  cost  of  100  pounds  of  gain 

with,  370. 

experiments  with,  88. 
flsh  scrap  for,  356. 
Indian  corn  for,  381. 
rations  for,  104,395. 
rations  used  at  Experiment  Sta- 
tions, 396. 
salt  for,  387. 

variation  in  individual  weight,  360. 
water  for,  387. 
water  drank  by,  359. 
fed   Kaffir  corn,  value  of   droppings 
;        from,  353. 

feed  for  100  pounds  of  gain  during  fat- 
tening, 370. 

frequency  of  feeding,  392. 
finished,  cost  of,  389. 
gluten  meal  for,  351. 
grain-feeding  of,  on  pastures,  383. 
influence  of  wide  and  narrow  rations 

on,  88. 

increase  during  fattening,  70. 
Kaffir  corn  for,  352. 
low-pressure  feeding,  391. 
molasses  for,  356. 
modern  market  demands,  390. 
oil  meal  for,  351,  384. 
on  pasture,  feeding  grain  to,  358. 
pasturing  of,  358. 
percentage  of  loose  tallow  to  dressed 

weight  of,  376. 

preparing  corn  for  feeding,  383. 
preparing  for  shipment,  394. 
proportion  of  valuable  parts  in  carcass 

of,  377. 
pure-bred,  amount  of  feed  consumed 

by,  372. 
less  feed  with,  for  given  gain,  373. 


656 


Index. 


Steer,  value  of,  378. 

roots  for,  351,  384. 

salt  for,  387. 

silage  for,  384. 

silage  vs.  roots  for,  355. 

soaked  corn  for,  346. 

time  required  for  corn  to  pass  through, 
349. 

turning  to  pasture,  385. 

water  drank  during  fattening,  359. 

water  for,  387. 

wheat  bran  for,  351. 

wheat  meal  for,  350. 

withholding  coarse  feed  from,  95. 
Steer  fat,  effect  of  cotton  seed  on,  156, 
Steer  fattening,  difficulties  of,  345. 

influence  of  shelter  and  confinement, 

36*. 
Steer  feeding,  by  Standard  Cattle  Co.,  399. 

close  attention  required,  393. 

cost  of  gain  increases  with  age,  369. 

demands  of  modern  market,  390. 

factors  in,  364. 

feed  lot  for,  391. 

feed  racks  for,  392. 

low-pressure,  391. 

trials,  results  of,  345. 

what  Southern   Stations  have  found, 
361. 

see  Ox  and  Cattle. 
Stomachs  of  farm  animals,  capacity  of, 

14, 19. 
Stover,  174. 

for  horses,  304. 

results  of  shredding,  241. 

see  Corn  stover. 
Straw,  193. 

cut,  239. 

for  horses,  304. 
Sugar,  225. 

for  calves,  337. 
Sugar  beet,  213. 

for  sheep,  502. 

leaves,  217. 

pulp,  222. 
Sunflower-seed  cake,  160. 

vs.  grain  for  pigs,  588 
Support,  food  of,  tor  pigs,  550. 
Swede  turnip,  213. 
Swedish  clover,  see  Alsike. 
Swelling  process,  with  linseed  meal,  159. 
Swine,  administration  of  feeds  to,  612. 

barley  for,  610. 

bran  for,  610. 

breed  tests  of,  543,  603. 

breeding  stock,  management  of,  604. 

clover  hay  for,  611. 

confinement  for,  613. 

cooking  feed  for,  236,  545. 

corn-cob  charcoal  for,  615. 

correctives  for,  614. 

dairy  by-products  for,  611. 

feed  for,  608. 

feeding  corn  to,  608. 


Swine,  light  vs.  heavy  feeding  of,  601. 

management  of,  604. 

middlings  for,  610. 

need  of  variety  in  feeding  stuffs  for,  613. 

pasture  for,  612. 

peas  for,  611. 

period  of  gestation,  535. 

pure-bred,  tests  with,  543. 

wheat  for,  609. 

see  Pigs. 
Tallow,  in  carcass  of  steers,  relation  of,  to 

dressed  weight,  376. 
Teosinte,  189. 

Thigh  bones  of  pigs,  strength  of,  83. 
Timothy,  or  Herd's  grass,  186. 

yield  of  hay  and  nutrients  from,  181. 
Timothy  hay,  for  cows,  476. 

for  horses,  303. 

vs.  meadow  foxtail  hay  for  cows,  423. 
Trotter,  feeding  the,  320. 
Turnips  vs.  whey  for  pigs,  596. 
Upland  prairie  hay  vs.  timothy  hay  for 

cows,  422. 

Urine,  composition  of,  23,  24. 
Valuations  of  nutrients  in  feeding  stuffs, 

117. 
Veal,  essentials  in  feeding  for,  343. 

feeding  for,  313. 

production  of,  on  pastures,  338. 
Veal  making,  a  Scotch  system  of,  343. 

the  Dutch  system  of,  343. 
Vermin  on  sheep,  521. 
Villi,  20. 
Waste  products  in  respiration  and  feeding, 

35. 
Water,  9. 

drank  by  fattening  lambs,  493. 
by  horses,  286,  289. 
by  pigs,  599. 

effect  of  addition  of,  to  feed  for  pigs, 
599. 

effect  of,  on  fat  consumption,  60. 

for  cows,  470. 

for  sheep,  520. 

influence  of,  on  protein  consumption, 
49. 

in  the  animal  body,  72. 

warm  vs.  cold  for  cows,  411. 
Water  extracts,  32. 
Weaning  lambs,  519. 
Weight,  of  horses,  variation  in,  291. 

loss  of,  in  horses  during  work,  286,  290. 

of  pigs,  gain  and  feed  consumed  by,  551. 
Wheat,  for  feeding,  127. 

for  horses,  294. 

for  pigs,  559. 

for  sheep,  498,  522. 

English  experience  with,  498. 

for  swine,  609. 

sheaf,  for  pigs,  560. 

damaged,  128. 

shrunken,  for  sheep,  500. 
Wheat  and  bran  vs.  oats  for  horses,  296. 
Wheat  and  corn  meal  for  pigs,  559. 


Index. 


657 


Wheat  and  its  by-products  in  milling,  126. 
Wheat  bran,  130. 

and  middlings  for  cows,  473. 

for  steers,  351. 

vs.  middlings  for  pigs,  562. 

vs.  mixed  grain  for  cows,  417. 

vs.  rye  and  barley  for  pigs,  594. 

with  corn  for  pigs,  562. 

see  Bran. 

Wheat  bread,  feeding  of,  129. 
Wheat  feeding,  character  of  flesh  from,  127. 
Wheat  grain,  126. 

composition  of,  128. 

fertilizing  ingredients  of,  131. 
Wheat  meal  for  steers,  350. 

vs.  corn  meal  for  cows,  415. 

vs.  mixed  grain  for  cows,  416. 
Wheat  middlings,  130. 
Wheat  screenings  for  sheep,  500,  523. 
Wheat  shorts,  130. 

see  Shorts  and  Middlings. 
Whey,  229. 

for  calves,  337,  340. 

for  milch  cows,  430. 

for  pigs,  574. 

vs.  grain  for  pigs,  587. 

vs.  skim  milk  for  pigs,,  585. 

vs.  turnips  for  pigs,  596. 
Wide  and  narrow  rations,  influence  of,  on 

flesh  production,  47. 
Winter  lamb  raising,  529. 
Winter  vs.  summer  feeding  of  pigs,  600. 
Wolff's  dynamometer,  274. 

feeding  standards,  109. 

investigations  in  horse  feeding  by,  273. 

42 


Wolff-Lehmann  feeding  standards,  101,  111. 
Wool  production,  497. 

influence  of  soil  and  climate  on,  512. 
Work,  by  cows,  influence  of,  on  quality  of 

milk,  412. 
feed  required  for  performing,  by  horses, 

285. 

food  requirements  for,  68. 
obtainable  from  food  substances  when 

fed  to  horse,  277. 

Work  horses,  compounding  rations  for,  324. 
feeding  of,  323. 
nutritive  ratio  for,  284. 
World's   Columbian    Exposition,   test  of 

dairy  cows  at,  448. 
Yield  of  alfalfa  per  acre,  204. 
Yield  of  corn   varies  with  thickness  of 

planting,  164. 
Yield  of  digestible  nutrients  in  root  crop, 

212. 
Yield  of  hay  and  nutrients  of  timothy,  four 

periods  of  growth,  181. 
Yield  of  milk  per  cow,  various  Experiment 

Stations,  459. 

Yield  of  milk  at  different  stages  of  lacta- 
tion, 408. 

Yield  of  milk  per  cow  yearly,  460. 
Yield  of  nutrients  in  clover  crop  at  differ- 
ent stages  of  maturity,  197. 
Yield  of  nutrients  in  corn  crop  at  various 

stages  of  maturity,  167. 
Yield  of  nutrients  in  pasture  grass,  per 

acre,  180. 

Yield  of  red  clover  crop,  196. 
Yield  of  root  crops,  211. 


14  DAY  USE 

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%?^™\A.7fi                         University  of  California 

(E4555slO)476                                          Berkeley 

U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


+LM 


